Beautiful Tragedy
by x-evaXOXO
Summary: A porcelein doll, fragile, that's what Sada was. She craved to be loved, she felt as though she needed it to survive. This love couldn't come from anyone, it had to an everlasting true love. He'd sent him to her, she'd finally found him. DeiXOC
1. Warnings and Such

_You're My Angel (A Deidara Romance)_

_By: x-evaXOXO aka Eva_

**Disclaimer**: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Naruto. The storyline and characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, an amazing manga writer. I do, however, own the main character Sada. Any other people who show up in the story, whose name's you don't recognize, are most likely my own characters. I also own The Village Hidden in the Dark as well as all darkness related techniques.

**Summary **of _You're My Angel_: The Naruto world has been turned upside down with all the different shinobi battling everything out, trying to reclaim honor to their country, etc. What if there was one Village that stayed away from the problems of the outside world, keeping their people trapped in the darkness. Sada is young girl that was born in The Village Hidden in the Dark, the daughter of a royal family. When her parents discover her ability to phase through objects like a ghost would, they imprison her. Sada escapes, making it into the outside world. She runs into two shinobi that take her in, train her, and are like the family she never had. Years pass, she's winds up in Konoha after barely escaping Orochimaru alive. We follow Sada through her journey in Konoha as she develops new friendships, struggles with her loneliness, living in fear of her kekkei genkai, and flies through the Chunin Exams without breaking a sweat. She was trained under a S-Ranked Criminal after all. In the middle of the exams a blonde boy suddenly appears in the village. His motives are unknown, but what should happen when these two souls meet. Can Deidara become the person that Sada can finally trust with everything, the person that rescues her from her despair, the one person that would love her for her? Perhaps we'll find out.

**Warnings**: **Angst **in certain areas of the story. **Canon**, the story line that Masashi Kishimoto created is followed throughout the story. Some possible **Fluff**, when things get a little further into the story. Hopefully not a **Mary Sue **by the time I finish re-writing it. Input on her would be nice if I screw up. Possibly some characters are **OOC**. I'm trying to keep that from happening, hence the re-writing.

**Main Pairing**: Deidara X Sada (OC)

**Other Pairings**: One-sided Sasuke X Sada, shortly depicted Haku X Sada

**Time Skips**: Alright, the story begins in the Village Hidden in the Dark when Sada is but five years old. Another time skip to four years later, age nine in Orochimaru's base. Another four years later, age thirteen, Konoha.


	2. Chapter One: Loneliness

I looked up hearing the door to the prison open and looked through the bars of my cell. 'Maybe Oka-san and Otou-san decided to come and get me.' I watched the guard walk passed my cell without a second look, and I leaned my head against the wall sadly. 'What did I do wrong? Why did Oka-san and Otou-san put me in this place? I want to go home.' I'd been in this prison for I didn't know how long. I had been put in here on my fourth birthday, and since I was five then that must mean I'd been in here for a little over a year. I barely ever got to see my parents, let along my Nee-san and Oni-chan. Did they even care that I was trapped in here with no one to talk to? No one seemed to care. All the guards were mean, and they weren't nice to me at all. I didn't understand what I had done to be in here, why could I just go home?

I wiped at my eyes, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks, and stood up. I looked around the dimly lit room and finally walked over to the cell bars. I looked out them at all the people imprisoned and tilted my head to the side confused like. It made me wonder if they had done anything wrong or if they were just put in here because my father had ordered it. He was the leader of our village, but didn't he show sympathy towards any of our people? I sighed and plopped on the ground. 'I want to go home.' I sniffed and heard the door of the prison open again. 'What's the point in hoping, they're not coming.' Footsteps were coming down the hall of the prison, more than one person's footsteps. 'What'd I do wrong?' I sighed and stared at the ground. 'Why Oka-san, I thought you loved me.'

"Sada." I looked up hearing my name being spoken and smiled.

My mother was standing beside me father, both my sister and brother behind them. My mother was such a beautiful woman. She had white blonde hair with natural curls in it, pulled up in an elegant style most of the time. Her eyes were a beautiful green color, and she was quite the classy woman. My father also had blonde hair, that fell to his shoulders, pulled back in a loose ponytail. His eyes were a hazel color, and he had a beard like most father's did. My older sister Ren, she was so pretty. She had long lavender hair that fell halfway down her back, and baby blue eyes. Her voice was so gorgeous, like a song of some sort. My older brother Yuki, was quite an amazing shinobi. He was already a Jounin at the age of fifteen. His blue hair fell in a shaggy kind of style, slightly in his green eyes. He'd taken after mother when it came to his eyes.

"Oka-san." I whispered, a smile coming to my lips.

She stared at me for a second and moved her head to the side, looking at my Otou-san. He moved his gaze to her and shook his head. I looked at my Otou-san, and my smile widened. He had to be here to take me away from this horrible place, why else would he have come?

"Otou-san, are you coming to get me out?" I asked sweetly. He looked at me and shook his head.

"We've come to tell you that we've come to a decision." he said, sounding emotionless.

"Nani?" I asked, wondering what he was going to say.

"You can't live." he said coldly. Oka-san looked at the ground and covered her eyes. Was she crying? "You'll be killed within the week." I looked at my Otou-san and felt tears begin rolling down my cheeks. Why was he doing this to me?

"Otou-san, nande?" I whispered, not bothering to wipe my tears away. He ignored my question and grabbed Oka-san's hand.

"Let's go." he said to her.

She nodded sullenly and let him lead her away. I looked at my Nee-san and Oni-chan hopefully, perhaps they'd convince Otou-san to let me live. They shook their heads in unison, and I felt my heart drop. They were _really _just going to let me die?

"Goodbye Sada." Ren said, moving her hair over her shoulder.

"It'll be quick, promise." Yuki told me, his hands going into his pockets. I sat there staring at them, and they finally followed my parents.

"Matte! Don't leave, please don't do this. Oka-san! Don't leave!" I yelled. They ignored my shouts and exited the prison. "Oka-san." I slumped against the wall and finally slid down the wall to the ground.

'What'd I do wrong?' I sat there for a while, not doing anything, but couldn't stop myself from crying. I couldn't believe my family, they were going to have me...killed. I gulped and moved my blue violet bangs out of my light red eyes. I closed my eyes and heard a voice.

"Little girl." I opened my eyes and looked sideways at the white haired old man in the cell next to me.

"Hai?" I asked, wiping at my tears. He motioned for me to come closer, and I went over as close to the bars as I could get. What did he want?

"What's your name sweetie?" he asked, sounding kind.

"Sada." I replied, he was the first friendly person I'd talked to in a long time. He smiled and reached through the bars, taking my small hand in his.

"It'll be ok Sada, I'll help you." he said smiling.

"You will?" I asked. He nodded and smiled again.

"They're letting me out tomorrow. I'll find a way to get you out of here, ok?" he said in a gentle voice. I nodded to him, and he smiled. Even through all the wrinkles on his face, I could still see kindness and truth in his eyes. "Don't worry sweetie, it'll all be ok. Just get some rest, tomorrow's going to be rough." I nodded and smiled.

"Ok, sir." He chuckled and said.

"Call me Oyaji (gramps)." I giggled and said.

"Ok, Oyaji." He smiled again and squeezed my hand sympathetically. "Oyaji...when we get out...will you be with me?" I asked, not wanting to be alone.

"I don't know Sada." he replied, shaking his head a bit. "We can only hope for the best." I smiled and nodded. "Footsteps, someone's coming. Go to sleep alright?"

I nodded and quickly crawled over to the corner of the cell where I slept. I laid down and looked at Oyaji one last time before closing my eyes. I felt myself slowly beginning to drift into unconsciousness, hopefully this would all work out.　THE NEXT DAY, PRISON CELL

"Sada. Sada, wake up sweetie."

I groaned tiredly and opened my eyes. It seemed too early to be awake, what was the hour? I yawned loudly and pulled myself into a sitting position, stretching my arms above my head.

"Sweetie." I looked over and smiled at Oyaji.

"Ooi Oyaji." I greeted, yawning again. He smiled genuinely and said.

"Konnichiwa Sada."

"What's going on?" I asked curiously, crawling closer to him. He smiled again, saying

"Today's the day."

"Really?" I asked, feeling slightly nervous. He nodded in confirmation, and I smiled a bit. "What are we going to do?"

"Leave everything to me. I'll do all the work, ok?" I nodded, and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. I felt so sorry for him, he seemed rather sleepy. "Eat your food right now, you need energy for the escape."

I nodded again and grabbed the food the guard had left for me. I ate the food slowly, not really thinking about what I was eating, and watched oyaji tap his finger against his chin in thought.

"Right now it's six, so it's already dark. Well…" He chuckled and shook his head amused. "It's always dark here, but it's darker when it's night."

"Night?" I asked, slightly shocked. "How'd I sleep so long?"

"I did a jutsu, you needed rest honey." he said, laughing a little. I smiled to myself and finished off my food while I listened to him talk. "As soon as you get out of here, run as quickly as you can. Go directly to the river and find a way to the other side. Once you make it across, find the gate of the village. There should be a hole there big enough for you to crawl through. Once you're on the other side, you have to find someone to take care of you."

"Oyaji, I want you to come with me." I said sadly.

He was such a kind man even though I didn't know that much about him, I wanted him to be with me. He was willing to help me escape from this place so I knew he was a good man. Why did he think he wouldn't make it out of here with me?

"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible little one." he said, smiling slightly. "I need to keep the guards busy as long as possible so you can get out. If I find a way out and make it outside the village, I'll come and find you." I smiled, happy that he was going to try to be with me, and he handed me his tray of food. "Eat it, you need it more than I do."

"Demo Oyaji!" I whined, not wanting to take the last of his food.

"No arguing, eat it." he ordered with a gentle tone. I nodded, not wanting to upset him, and ate the food slowly. "They'll be coming in a few minutes to let me out. I want you as close to your cell door as possible." I nodded, and he pulled something out of the dirt. "I don't want to have to give you this Sada, but if you have to use it then do so."

'A kunai?' I looked at the kunai for a second and finally took it from his hand.

"Don't let anyone see it."

I nodded and hid it in my blue kimono. Footsteps started coming done the hallway, and I looked at Oyaji. He urged me to get over to the cell door, and I quickly crawled over there. The guard went to oyaji's cell and unlocked it.

"You're lucky Mr. Hoshi, you sentence is served." the guard said, sounding bored with his job.

"Arigato young sir." Oyaji said politely. I blinked just for a second before I saw the guard on the floor knocked out. I smiled, and Oyaji quickly unlocked my cell door. I ran out and hugged him.

"Arigato Oyaji." I said, smiling in happiness.

"Your welcome Sada." he whispered, stroking my hair. His hand jerked away from my head, and he pushed me a little way down the hallway. "Go." I looked over and gasped seeing all kinds of guards. "Go now."

I nodded, slightly terrified of the guards, and ran down the hallway. Yelling, screaming, bangs, it was everywhere. I pushed open the door of the prison and looked around the dark world. There was no light, but even when it was day time there wasn't light. That's why they called our village the Village Hidden in the Dark. The people learned how to see in the dark with a jutsu called Night Vision, but they learned it at the Academy. Since I had never been there, I had no idea how I was going to see where I was going. I looked around every which way before I just ran in some direction. I had no idea where I was going, I was blind. If I had been older this wouldn't have been a problem. What if I got caught? I gasped and continued running.　

'Where am I even going?'

SPLASH!

I sputtered, feeling water go up my nose and in my mouth, trying to catch my breath. I moved my arms around, trying to keep myself from drowning.

'Matte, the river. If I get across then I can get out of the village.'

"Did you hear that noise?" a voice asked. I closed my eyes and opened them, hoping I could see; darkness.

"It came from the river." another stated. I looked around, trying to hear where the voices were coming from, and kicked my legs trying to keep my head surfaced.

"What was that old man thinking?" a voice asked, sounding annoyed.

"Trying to help that little girl I think. The old fool only gave himself up to death." someone answered. I closed my eyes trying to hold back my tears and heard someone shout

"There she is!"

I took a deep breath and went under the water; I swam. I had no idea where I was going, but I swam. I held my arms out, trying to prevent hitting my head against a rock or something like that. My fingers finally made contact with earth and I brought my head up out of the water, gasping for air. I listened for a few minutes and finally pulled myself out of the water hearing nothing. I looked around on a natural reaction and finally ran. I held my arms out infront of me and finally they hit something.

'Wood, it's wood.' I smiled and bent down searching for the hole. I crawled in one direction feeling, trying to find it before those people found me. My hand slipped and went through something. 'Nothing, I feel...nothing. The hole!' I smiled again and looked back. 'Arigato Oyaji.' I crawled through the hole and wondered what was in store for me.　THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE RAIN

It was cold, extremely cold. I looked around and finally sighed. I gasped, my breath. I could see my own breath. I breathed again and watched it. This was so weird, how cold was it? I looked around and realized that where ever I was it wasn't as dark here as it was in my village. How was that even possible? I had no idea. I looked around again and finally walked down the street. Most stores were closed, but that was probably because it was 7:00 at night. Maybe if it was morning then things would be open. I sighed and shivered at how freezing my clothes were from being wet.

'Oyaji said that I need to find someone to take care of me, but I can't just leave him. What if he got out? I can't not be here.' I nodded at my logic and finally looked around searching for a place to rest. I wasn't going to rest in the market place, but I also couldn't afford a fancy hotel to stay in. 'I'll just look around for a bit.' I walked around the market place looking for somewhere to rest and saw a red haired woman carrying her groceries. I looked down and walked pass her.

"Little girl?" I looked up at her, and she smiled. "You look hungry, would you like an apple?" I thought for a second before finally nodding. Not everyone was going to be nice so I was just going to accept kindness when it was given. "Here you go." She handed me an apple, and I smiled at her.

"Arigato." I said sweetly. She smiled and pulled something else out of her bag.

"Little girls like you shouldn't be walking around without a coat on." she said, smiling again. I smiled at her, and she handed me a jacket.

"Arigato." I said again, still sounding sweet. Her smile widened, and she looked me over. She seemed like a very nice lady, she looked worried about me being alone though.

"Would you like to come with me?" she asked with a kind tone. I shook my head and smiled at her.

"It's ok, I'm not alone. I was just looking for my Oyaji, and I lost my coat when I fell in the river." I lied, sounding sweet. "I'll be fine miss."

She nodded, believing the lie. I walked away after saying a thank you to her, still looking for a place to wait for Oyaji at. I put the apple in the pocket of my kimono and looked around sadly. 'Oyaji where are you?'

**Author's Note: So...there's the first chapter of the first Naruto story you've seen me write. God all those words confused my brain. But I finally managed to transfer it over to this account, since I use it more than my other one. I was rather happy about that and everything. Give me some feedback if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to know what you all think of this story. I'm still going to do a little re-writing on it but I will NOT stop my bleach stories. Don't panic over that, kay kiddies? Review please!**


	3. Chapter Two: Companionship

I was alone. Oyaji wasn't coming, he just wasn't. I had been waiting for days on this little bridge I had come across, but he never showed up. He'd been...killed. I didn't want to believe it, but there was no point pretending it wasn't true. Oyaji had risked his life to help me escape and at times like these, I wished he hadn't. I looked up for a second and immediately looked down feeling a stinging jolt go through my eyes. It was blinding the sun was. My life had been lived in darkness, there had never been a sun in my village. It burnt my eyes everytime I looked at it. The first day of experiencing the rays of the sun was torture. I hadn't managed to move from the spot I'd been sitting in until the sun went down. It blinded me and even behind my closed lids, I could feel it's rays. It was as if it was burning my eyes out, it hurt so badly.

'Maybe I should have accepted the offer from that nice lady.' I shivered and pulled my coat tighter around myself. I didn't like the winter, it was so cold that I felt as if my whole body was going numb because of it. That might've also been because my clothes had never dried properly, they felt so stiff to move in. My eyes finally stopped burning, and I looked up from me knees. 'Sunset.' I smiled but that immediately turned into a frown when I realized I was still alone. 'Footsteps, footsteps across the bridge, Oyaji!' I looked to my right and sighed when I didn't see oyaji. It was a boy and a man. The man had bandages wrapped around part his face and was carrying a sword, a really big sword. The little boy had black hair and brown colored eyes. He looked about eight years old and had a kind expression on his face

I looked at the man for a moment and studied him. 'Both of them have rather nice clothes, well then again they are shinobi...by the looks of them at least. I might be wrong, but I think they are shinobi, especially since he has that huge-normous sword.' I moved my eyes to the boy and stared. 'I bet if I just randomly went up and started talking to him he'd talk back. He looks like a nice person.' I looked back at the man and bit my lower lip seeing how menacing he looked. 'He doesn't look too nice though.' I sighed and looked down. 'Why can't Oyaji be alive...why can't he come and get me? I don't want to be alone anymore.' The man walked passed me not giving me a second glance, I knew that was going to happen. 'Why can't someone care?' I looked up into a pair of beautiful brown eyes and looked at the face of the boy.

"Why are you alone?" he asked quietly. I looked down sadly and shrugged.

"They killed him." I whispered. I felt him lightly touch my face, and my eyes flicked up to his.

"Your eyes," he whispered. "They carry loneliness, sadness, desperation, and the need of wanting to be loved."

What was he talking about? I didn't know, but then again I was only five. He smiled kindly, and I felt my lips curve into a small smile. I didn't know why, but I felt drawn to him. I didn't know him but I still felt like I needed to stay close to him.

"Haku, come on." the man yelled.

"Zabuza-san." Haku said, moving his eyes to Zabuza. "Can we?" I looked at Haku for a second before moving my eyes to the man called Zabuza. He was looking from me to Haku, and he laughed.

"You want her to come with us?" he asked, raising en eyebrow. Haku nodded and smiled.

"Please Zabuza-san." he asked of him. I looked from Haku to Zabuza, wondering what type of relationship they had with each other, and felt my spirits raised when Zabuza finally nodded.

"You take care of her though Haku." Zabuza ordered. Haku smiled and grabbed my hand.

"Come on." he said with a happy tone. He gently took both my hands, pulling me to my feet. I looked at him, feeling happy for the first time in years. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, trying his best to keep me warm. Zabuza chuckled and turned around.

"Come on you two." he instructed. Haku nodded and led me over to Zabuza. "Let's get going." Haku nodded again and looked at me.

"Don't worry, we're going to be stopping at an inn." he said, smiling a little. "There you can tell us everything." I nodded and looked up at Zabuza. He stared down at me, not looking too impressed, and sighed.

"What's your name girl?" he asked, not sounding the least bit interested. I looked at Haku wondering what to do, and he smiled encouragingly. I smiled back and looked back up at Zabuza.

"Sada." I whispered. He nodded, seeming rather bored, and Haku tightened his arm around my shoulders.

"That probably should have been your name Haku." Zabuza said with a chuckle. I looked at Haku, and he smiled at Zabuza.

"If I was a girl then it should have been." Haku said cheerfully. Zabuza chuckled again and repeated his words from earlier.

"Let's go." We both nodded and followed Zabuza.

_HOURS LATER_

"Get inside you two." Zabuza ordered, opening the door of the room. Haku nodded and led me inside. That's what he'd been doing the past two hours, leading. I suppose I was just really scared for one, and for another I was just a kid. Then again, Haku was just a kid as well. He was older than me though so...I didn't know what I was thinking. My thoughts were just so confused that the only thing I did know was that I was scared about what all was going to happen. What would they do when they found out about my kekkei genkai and ability to drain chakra when I made skin contact with someone? I looked around the room for a minute before the door closed behind us. I jumped slightly and held onto Haku tighter.

"Zabuza-san, could you try not to surprise her like that?" Haku asked kindly. "She's scared."

"Well, she needs to not be so scared then." Zabuza said boredly. "You should know that I don't show mercy to anyone Haku." Haku nodded a bit and sighed.

"Come on Sada." he said, looking over towards the bedroom. I nodded, and he led me into the bedroom. I sat down on the bed, and he smiled at me. "Stay right there ok? I need to go get some things to help clean you up."

I nodded, knowing I most likely looked like a street rat, and he walked out of the room. I looked around the room for a few minutes studying it, man this room was boring. There were no pretty designs or anything, it was so plain. I sighed quietly, waiting for Haku to get back to me, and heard Zabuza's heavy footsteps across the floor. I looked up at the doorway and watched him walk in.

"This place is a dump." he muttered, putting his sword to lean against the wall.

"I think it's rather nice." Haku said, walking back in the room with his bag. Zabuza shook his head amused, and Haku walked back to my side. "Do you have any cuts, bruises, anything along those lines?" he asked curiously. I shook my head slowly, not thinking I did have any injuries, and he smiled kindly.

"I don't think so." I said quietly. He smiled again and brought out a washcloth.

"Your face is caked with dirt." he said, chuckling softly to himself. I smiled sweetly, and he gently wiped all the dirt off my face. "There, you're starting to look better already." I smiled again, and he took my left arm examining it. "Nothing here." he muttered. He took my other arm and shook his head, apparently seeing nothing there as well. "Sada?" I looked at him, and he smiled slightly. "Could you pull your kimono up a bit?" I nodded and pulled it up to where it was a few inches above my knees. "What did you do to your knees?" Haku asked, slightly shocked. I looked down and saw scrapes, tons of scrapes.

"I fell." I whispered. Haku shook his head slightly amused, and Zabuza sighed.

"Are you clumsy?" he asked, not sounding like he would be surprised if I said yes. I looked over at him and shook my head. "Then how'd you manage that?"

"The sun." I whispered. Haku looked at me confused, he didn't look like he understood. Zabuza's eyes lit up, showing me that I'd sparked his interest.

"The sun?" he repeated. I nodded, and he walked across the floor, stopping beside us. "How did the sun do that to you?"

"It blinded me." I said quietly "In my village...there was no sun...only darkness."

"The Village Hidden in the Dark." Zabuza muttered, apparently he was one of the few people that knew about my village. "No wonder it was able to blind you so easily."

"I tripped." I stated, looking at Haku. "Alot." Haku smiled and shook his head, seeming slightly amused.

"You'll get used to the sun after a while." he said kindly. I smiled at him, and Zabuza said

"I'm going to go get some food. Make sure once you treat her wounds that she actually gets clean." Haku nodded understanding, and Zabuza walked out of the bedroom.

"There's probably a bathroom somewhere in this room." he said after a minute. I nodded and sat there quietly until he finished treating my knees. "That's it."

"Haku-kun?" I whispered timidly. He looked up at me curiously, most likely wondering about the kun I had attached to the end of his name. He smiled and said

"Yeah?" Apparently he didn't want to know that badly, he didn't sound too interested.

"Do you think there's a place I could get this washed?" I asked, referring to my kimono "I don't have anything else." He nodded.

"I saw a washer when I went to get my stuff. We'll make sure your clothes get clean." Haku said smiling. I nodded and he rummaged through his bag, looking for something. "You can wear this tonight though." I nodded again and took the clothes he gave me. "Come on, let's find the bathroom." I got up and followed Haku around the room. "Found it. You can have the shower first, ok?" I nodded and smiled.

"Thank you Haku-kun." I said sweetly.

"Your welcome." Haku said, smiling a little. I giggled and walked in the bathroom.

'Wow's it's nice.' I quickly took a shower, making sure to get all the dirt and grime off my body and out of my hair. I put on the clothes Haku had given me, not really caring that I looked like an average little girl. Being royalty had been so frustrating all the time. I'd been sick of being told what I had to where. 'Yay, now I actually smell good.' I giggled to myself and walked out of the bathroom. I went back to the bedroom and smiled at Haku.

"All finished?" he asked. I nodded, and he smiled. "Your kimono's already been washed, it's in my bag right now ok?" I nodded, and he smiled again. "Zabuza-san brought us something to eat, let's go." He grabbed my hand and led me to where ever we were going to eat. Zabuza looked up from the table when he heard us walk in and chuckled.

"She looks like a little princess." he said with an amused tone. I looked down in embarrassment when my cheeks went warm, and Haku said

"She does, doesn't she? I didn't notice that. Under all that dirt she has the appearance of a princess." I looked at Haku, hoping that he wouldn't treat me any differently when he found out about me being a princess, and he smiled. "Come on, let's eat. What'd you get?" he asked Zabuza, leading me over to the table by the hand.

"Your favorite." Zabuza replied.

"You got Domburi and Okonomiyaki?" Haku asked excitedly. Zabuza nodded, and Haku smiled. "Arigato Zabuza-san."

Zabuza nodded in reply, and we sat down at the table to eat. It was a rather weird experience. I barely knew either of them, but I felt comfortable being with them. It felt like, I was meant to be with them. It was, as I said before, weird.

"Sada." I looked up hearing Zabuza say my name, and he finished putting the bandages back on his face.

'I didn't even notice he took them off.'

"Now it's your turn to tell us a story." he said. I nodded knowing what he was talking about and sighed quietly.

"Ok."

_BANG BANG BANG!_　

"Zabuza you are under arrest!" a man yelled from outside the door. "Come quietly, and you won't be killed."

"Damn it." Zabuza muttered, doing some handsigns "Haku, hurry up and grab everything." Haku nodded and ran off trying to get everything. I looked at Zabuza, not knowing what to do, and part of the door was destroyed. I covered my face with my arms, and Zabuza pushed me behind him protectively. "Sada go help him." I nodded and quickly followed Haku.

"What's going on?" I asked confused, grabbing Haku's bag.

"People don't like Zabuza-san too well." Haku replied, grabbing Zabuza's bag. "This is everything besides-"

_CRASH!  
_  
I gasped in fear, and Haku grabbed my hand.

"Don't worry, Zabuza-san won't let anything happen to us." he promised. I nodded, believing his words, and we backed up towards the window. Zabuza ran into the room and grabbed his sword from the wall.

"Go out the window you two, and don't look at what's happening." he commanded. We both quickly nodded and hopped out the window. We sat under the window, and Haku held me close to him.

"Close your eyes, and cover your ears." he whispered.

I nodded, following his instructions. I leaned against Haku, and he rested his chin on top of my head. I still couldn't block out everything. The screaming, the clashing of swords and kunai, the sound of powerful jutsus taking place; all of this was terrifying. I didn't know what was going to happen, but it couldn't have been good. Would Zabuza be alright? I don't know how long we sat there, it could have been minutes or it could have been hours, I didn't know. I heard a voice and opened my eyes; Zabuza.

"Zabuza-san you're alright." Haku said happily. Zabuza nodded, and Haku pulled me to my feet.

"We have to get going." Zabuza ordered, resting his sword on his shoulder. "They'll send more since they know I'm here." Haku nodded like he understood, and I just stared at him blankly.

'What is he talking about, I don't understand. Why don't people like Zabuza? Has he done something wrong?'

"Let's go." I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up from the ground. Haku nodded, and we followed Zabuza into the darkness of the night.　

_THE NEXT MORNING, THE BORDER OF THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE RAIN_

I opened my eyes tiredly and looked around. We were in a forest, why were we in a forest; I had no idea. I didn't really know what all was going on, but I hadn't asked any questions. I'd merely just followed Haku's lead and listened to Zabuza's instructions. I had no reason not to trust these two. They'd saved my life and taken me in when no one else had. I was thankful to be with them. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my blurry vision, and sat up rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"Morning Sada-chan." Haku said cheerfully. I smiled hearing the 'chan' Haku had added to my name and stood up, not really knowing what to do.

"Good morning Haku-kun." I said, yawning a little. Haku smiled at me, and Zabuza walked out of the trees towards us.

"They didn't follow us." he stated. Haku nodded, and I plopped back on the ground. I was so tired that I didn't think I could go anywhere today. I hadn't ever done traveling like this before, I'd never traveled period. "We'll probably stay here for a few days."

'Yay, no traveling for a while.' I smiled, thankful that I'd get to rest a little, and Zabuza sat down infront of the fire. Haku sat beside me, and we both stared at Zabuza. "Now before we were so rudely interrupted, your story Sada." I nodded, knowing I couldn't delay it any longer, and sighed.

"Well, you already know that I used to live in the Village Hidden in the Dark." They both nodded, and I sighed again. "We don't have a kage in my village, we have a king and queen."

"Your village was ruled by a royal family?" Haku asked, slightly confused. I nodded to myself, hating talking about my family.

"The king and queen were the only rulers. No one could tell them what they could or couldn't do." I continued, looking down towards the ground.

"Absolute power." Zabuza muttered. "Not many villages go by that anymore."

"Well mine does. The only person that can over rule the queen is the king, but no one could over rule the king." I said quietly. Haku nodded listening intently, and Zabuza sighed, probably already bored with my story. "Well Oka-san and Otou-san didn't like me too well so-"

"What do you mean Oka-san and Otou-san?" Haku interrupted, sounding even more confused.

"My Oka-san and Otou-san were the king and queen." I whispered, rubbing my arm self-consciously. Haku put his arm around me, trying to comfort me, and Zabuza looked at me interested.

"No wonder you look like a princess, it's because you are." he stated, sounding emotionless.

"Not anymore." I said sadly. "Oka-san and Otou-san were going to..." I stopped, I couldn't say it. Haku hugged me trying to keep me calm, and I drew a shaky breath. I knew I had to tell them the truth, I had to say it, and accept that they didn't love me. "They wanted me dead."

"Why?" Haku asked, not understanding why my parents would want to kill me.

"They thought I was evil." I whispered. "No one has the kekkei genkai that I have so-"

"What's your kekkei genkai?" Zabuza interrupted, sounding interested.

"I've only done it once, so I don't know if I can do it again." I said quietly.

"How does it work?" Haku asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I don't know, but I can go through things." I said, even more quietly. I was so nervous about telling them all this, what if they got rid of me? "It's weird."

"What kind of things?" Zabuza inquired.

"Everything and anything." I replied, playing with a strand of my hair. "When I did it that one time, I went through a wall, one of our maids, a table…I even fell through the floor." Zabuza nodded, apparently interested in my kekkei genkai, and Haku smiled.

"That's cool." he said, his smile widening.

"You really think so?" I asked in shock, he nodded in confirmation. "I think it's weird."

"It's not though." Haku said happily. "People with kekkei genkai's just have something that other people don't have. I can control water, watch."

I looked at his hand and down at the snow he was focusing on. The snow suddenly melted into water, and I looked at Haku. He smiled and moved his hand. The water made all kinds of twists and turns, forming into all kinds of things. It was so cool.

"Wow." I whispered, entranced by the water. "That's amazing."

"I didn't think so at first." Haku said honestly. "Zabuza-san helped me learn how to control it better." I looked up a Zabuza, and he nodded agreeing. "He can help you master your kekkei genkai too, right Zabuza-san?" I stared at Zabuza for a minute, and he finally nodded.

"It'll be a lot of work since I've never seen this kekkei genkai before or even heard of it for that matter." he said. I nodded and smiled.

"I'll do whatever you need me to do so I can master it." I said with a determined tone. Zabuza nodded, looking pleased that I was so determined, and Haku smiled. "There's something else…" Zabuza looked at me curiously, and I twiddled my fingers. "I…take chakra from people." Haku looked at me confused, not understanding how I could do that. "It's not alot… but I'm afraid. When I touch people…I take their chakra." Zabuza nodded, scratching the back of his head in thought.

"It most likely hasn't developed since you're so young, we'll need to set up mental blocks for the future." he stated, Haku looked at him confused.

"Can you really do that Zabuza-san?" he asked, Zabuza chuckled amused.

"Who do you think you're talking to Haku?" he asked, still chuckling. Haku smiled, laughing a little, and turned his attention back to me.

"Don't worry Sada-chan, everything will be fine." he promised. I nodded and stared at the water he was still controlling.

'I hope you're right.'

**Author's Note: Here's the second chapter of my story, I added a little more but not too much from the original version. This chapter didn't need too much re-writing to be done to it. I hope you all are enjoying it so far =] I'll also warn you all that it'll be a while before Deidara comes in, I think chapter thirteen but I'm not quite sure. Oh and also keep in mind for future chapters that Deidara is sixteen so he's still a teenager. We all love him, but he's not going to be the all out majorly over confident hothead that we see in the manga and anime. I'm making sure to make him as realistic as possible, all boys need a soft side after all right? Oh and one more thing, Sada has been trained under a _S-Ranked Criminal_ so she's going to be very talented in everything she does that's Genin level. So I'm not trying to make her seem like she's ridiculously talented, but she _has_ been trained under a Criminal so she's obviously going to be talented. Just wanted to make that clear to you.**

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER THREE_

_I loved it when Haku cooked, he was so amazing it at. For breakfast today we were having grilled fish, tamagoyaki, and seasoned nori. He was such an amazing cook, as I said before. He smiled in response and handed me my plate._

"Don't leave your hair hanging in your face like that or you're going to end up eating it." Haku said, chuckling quietly.

"Will not." I said, plopping down on the grass.

"Will too." Haku argued, sitting beside me.

"Nu uh." I disagreed.

"Yeah huh." he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and shook my head to myself.

_"I will not." I mumbled. He laughed, and I wrinkled my nose. "Urg! Fine, I'll do as you wish, even though I know I won't eat my own hair." I mumbled this last part, and Haku said_

_"So do as I wish, and get it out of your face."_

"Fine fine, so bossy."


	4. Chapter Three:Betrayal

"Sada-chan come on!" Haku yelled, I swung my arm over my head. "Get up!" I groaned tiredly and turned over on my side, I wasn't getting up for anything. "Sada-chan wake up! Breakfast is almost ready!"

"Go away Haku-kun, let me sleep." I mumbled, my eyes still closed.

"Sada-chan!" he yelled again. Of course Haku wasn't going to let me sleep, he never did. He always woke me up at the crack of dawn, it'd been this way for years. "Sada-chan get up!" I yawned quietly, and he groaned. I heard his light footsteps across the ground and turned over on my side, not really caring. "Sada-chan, get up." he whispered next to my ear. I yawned again, and he sighed to himself. "Fine, I tried to be nice."

'Crap, Haku's not going to be nice? That's a first.'

"Ok I'm up!" I yelled, jumping up. I ended up getting up so fast that it made my head spin, and I ended up landing face first on the ground. "Itai!" He laughed, and I pushed my face out of the dirt.

'Ewww, so gross.' I wrinkled my nose and wiped the dirt off my face. I looked up at Haku and he chuckled to himself, still amused about my _lovely_ face plant. I moved myself out of the dirt and sat up, my hair falling all around me like a halo.

"I knew that was what would get you up." he said, smiling to himself. I groaned loudly and shook my hair out of my face, it was beginning to get annoying this early in the morning.

"Haku-kun that wasn't very friendly." I whispered, crossing my arms over my chest. He smiled and bent down next to me, hugging me tightly.

"Gomen Sada-chan, Zabuza-san would've been very angry if you hadn't been awake by the time he got back. You know how he is." he said in his usual kind voice. I sighed and put my arms around him, hugging him back.

"It's alright I guess." I whispered, nuzzling my face into his shoulder. He smiled and quickly kissed my forehead before going over to the fire to finish breakfast. I shook my head amused and looked through my bag, trying to find my hairbrush.

I'd been with Haku and Zabuza for four years, and it was definitely the best time of my life. Zabuza had helped me control my kekkei genkai, and now I finally had it mastered. It was hard at first but as time progressed, I got better and better at controlling it; I was just magic I suppose. Ok, I had my conceited moment. It actually wasn't as easy as I had just made it out to be. It really took me a full three years to master it, shocking huh? My darkness related jutsu had improved since I'd been with Zabuza, having an S-Ranked Criminal as your sensei had perks. Zabuza had also managed to help me set up a great bunch of mental blocks, blocking off my power to steal chakra. After doing much research on it, he came to realize that there was no possible way I could control it all. If I released too many mental blocks, I'd lose control of it and my opponents (and anyone else I touched for that matter) would be dead within a good five minutes. I had to make sure that I'd never release all my mental blocks. But away from that, Haku was my best friend, I cherished him. I don't know what would happen if I lost him. He'd taught me so many things since I'd been with them. My medical ninjutsu had gotten better, and Haku had taught me everything he knew about healing. How you could use herbs to make medicines and whatnot. He was precious to me, and I knew that I was precious to him as well.

I brushed my hair out and left it hanging in my face like I usually did. I adjusted my silver colored leggings, black summer kimono with red paint splatters on it, and ninja sandals. I looked in my mirror at my face, cringing to myself. 'Gah, and it's still caked with all kinds of dirt. Dang it Haku, I look horrible. Arigato best friend.' I grabbed the cloth sitting on my bag and wiped at my face. 'There, all better.'

"Breakfast is ready." Haku said, looking back at me. I smiled sweetly and skipped over to him.

"It looks amazing." I said, looking over his shoulder.

I loved it when Haku cooked, he was so amazing it at. For breakfast today we were having grilled fish, tamagoyaki, and seasoned nori. He was such an amazing cook, as I said before. He smiled in response and handed me my plate.

"Don't leave your hair hanging in your face like that or you're going to end up eating it." Haku said, chuckling quietly.

"Will not." I said, plopping down on the grass.

"Will too." Haku argued, sitting beside me.

"Nu uh." I disagreed.

"Yeah huh." he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and shook my head to myself.

"I will not." I mumbled. He laughed, and I wrinkled my nose. "Urg! Fine, I'll do as you wish, even though I know I won't eat my own hair." I mumbled this last part, and Haku said

"So do as I wish, and get it out of your face."

"Fine fine, so bossy." He chuckled as I pushed my hair away from my face and brought it into a low ponytail. "Happy now?"

"I am very pleased." Haku said. I giggled and we ate our breakfast, joking around with each other like we did on a daily basis.

"Zabuza-san's not back yet." I observed, dumping water on the fire.

"I know, it's not like him." Haku said, scratching his head in thought. There was a moment of silence while Haku thought about Zabuza's absence, and I shuffled my feet on the ground.

"Should we go look for him?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence. Haku moved his eyes from me to the ground and quickly thought it over.

"No, Zabuza-san's able to handle himself." Haku stated.

I nodded and sighed understanding his meaning. If Zabuza had needed our help he would have woken us up and asked for it before he had left. Since he hadn't asked for our help, it would be disrespectful of us to go off looking for him when he didn't need any assistance in whatever he was doing. Right now, our job was just to hang around this area until Zabuza returned, but I wasn't one who could sit still all day.

"So what are we supposed to do while he's away?" I asked to no one in particular. I looked over in Haku's direction, and he shrugged to himself.

"Well since I decided what we did last time Zabuza-san was away, that means it's your turn to pick." he said. I looked at him confused and he chuckled. "Don't you remember when we were heading towards the Hidden Cloud Village, and Zabuza went off to get supplies?" I shook my head still confused, and he shook his head amused. "We played tag in the river."

"Oh yeah." I said smiling "I almost forgot about that." Haku rolled his eyes, and I giggled. "You cheated though, you used your kekkei genkai."

"How was that cheating?" Haku asked. "You were using yours too, if I remember correctly." I giggled and smiled sweetly.

"Only cause you used yours first." I recalled.

"Was not." he said.

"Was too." I retorted.

"Nu uh!" he argued.

"Yeah huh!" I disagreed. He rolled his eyes amused and chuckled.

"Fine you win." I jumped up and punched the air in victory.

"Yay!" I cheered. He laughed and said

"Now pick what we do please." I nodded and thought for a moment.

"How about we go herb hunting? We're almost out."

"That's a good idea actually." Haku agreed with a smile. "Let's go then." I nodded and grabbed our herb bag. We walked through the forest for an hour or so collecting herbs for medicine, and when we finally made it back to the campsite Zabuza had returned.

"Where have you two been?" Zabuza asked, knowing we normally went off on our own when he wasn't around.

"We went around the forest collecting herbs." Haku replied. Zabuza nodded and sighed boredly.

"I got a very good deal from someone. We'll be going and meeting him to make the final arrangements." Zabuza told us. We both nodded, and I pulled my hair out of my ponytail. It flew back in front of my face, and I looked at Zabuza curiously.

"When will we be leaving?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Soon, we need to pack up camp now." Zabuza instructed. Haku and I nodded and quickly began packing camp up.

"So where are we heading?" Haku asked as we followed Zabuza.

"You remember that waterfall we walked past a few days ago?" Zabuza inquired. We nodded, and he sighed absentmindedly. "That's where we're heading."

I looked at Haku, and he shrugged. Apparently I wasn't the only one who didn't know who we were meeting. If Zabuza didn't want us to know who we were meeting then we probably shouldn't ask. I looked up and groaned seeing a tree in my way. 'Whatever.' I went through it and out the other side without interest. Haku rolled his eyes, and I giggled.

"You're so lazy sometimes." he observed.

"I didn't want to go around it though." I said, smiling sweetly. He rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself.

"We'll be there in a matter of hours." Zabuza said after a moment. We nodded again, and I sighed quietly.

'I wonder who we're making a deal with.'　

_HOURS LATER, ALMOST TO THE WATERFALL_

I looked around the forest area boredly, trying to occupy my thoughts, and sighed. Haku looked over at me and smiled that warm smile of his.

"What are you sighing about now?" he asked amused.

"Nothing." I said quietly. Haku laughed and hugged me while we walked.

"Liar." he stated, still sounding amused. I shook my head disagreeing, and he chuckled. "Lying isn't very nice Sada-chan."

"I know Haku-kun." I giggled. "Demo…I'm not lying so ha!" Haku laughed again, and Zabuza looked back at us hugging.

"We're here." he said. We both nodded, and Haku let go of me. I looked at the waterfall area, wondering when the people we were making a deal with were going to arrive.

"I hate having to act all serious." I said sadly.

"You don't act serious half the time though, you act sad and distant." Haku said as we followed Zabuza towards the waterfall. I looked down sadly, and he sighed. "See?"

"I know, I'm sorry Haku-kun." I whispered.

He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. He knew that everything about my past in The Village Hidden in the Dark still affected me, and he always tried his hardest to keep my spirits up. It was so difficult for him at times though, I wondered why he still put up with me after all these years. I looked at him confused, feeling something go around my neck, and looked down. I smiled seeing Haku's necklace. He always wore it everyday, this crystal had been his mother's necklace, it always reminded him over her. I couldn't believe he was giving it to me. I smiled again feeling his lips press against my head again and poked his side, happy to have him as my best friend.

"Lucky for you no one saw that." I said, giggling a little. He chuckled and ruffled my hair. I pouted, not liking that he'd messed my hair up, and he smiled.

"You're precious to me Sada-chan, I don't know what I would do without you." he said.

I smiled and stood on Zabuza's left while Haku stood on his right. We waited for a few minutes before some people came out from the trees. All of them were wearing the same headband, it was a note. 'I've never seen that village symbol before.' The leader of the group smirked at us and stopped walking. 'Who is that?' I looked at the man and stared at him blankly. 'Is he albino, he really does look albino with the white skin and black hair.'

"Zabuza, so happy you could meet us." the albino dude said in a creepy voice.

'Ok it's official, I already don't like this guy.'

"Orochimaru." Zabuza said emotionlessly.

'So the albino guy's name is Orochimaru...creepy. He reminds me of a snake.'

"What will you give me?" Zabuza said, seeming like he wanted to get out of here. I looked at the ninja behind Orochimaru and finally at Zabuza.

'Why did he have to make a deal with some creepy albino guy that looks like a snake?'

"I'll supply you with money as well as assassins for you." Orochimaru slurred.

"How many shinobi, and how much money?" Zabuza asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Twenty shinobi will be at your command. You may do whatever you want with them." Orochimaru said. "They are yours."

"And the money?" Zabuza asked, raising an eyebrow.

"50,000,000 yen." Orochimaru said.

'Woah, this guy must be rich or something.' Zabuza nodded and kept the emotionless look on his face that I was so used to seeing.

"And in return," Orochimaru asked licking his lips. "Do I get what was promised to me?"

"Hai." Zabuza said.

'What could Zabuza possibly give this Orochimaru guy? We don't have anything of value.' Orochimaru smirked and nodded.

"So we have a deal?" Zabuza nodded, and Orochimaru smirked. "Perfect." he hissed.

'Ok this guy really is like half snake or something.' Twenty of the shinobi behind Orochimaru walked over to us and stood behind us respectfully. 'Wow, this is...amazing. There's so many of them. What is Zabuza-san going to give Orochimaru though, does he want us to steal some ancient relic or something? If so then I can do that in a flash with my kekkei genkai.'

"Sada?" Zabuza said. I looked up at him, and he did something I didn't expect...he hit me.

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Haku watched Sada fall to the ground unconscious and looked at Zabuza confused. It wasn't like she'd done anything wrong. 'Why'd he do that?'

"Zabuza-san, what's going on?" he asked with a slightly frightened voice.

Zabuza looked at Haku for a second and finally turned his attention to Orochimaru who was staring at them. Not getting an answer, Haku ran over to Sada, and bent down looking at her face. 'What's going on?' He pulled Sada into his arms and held her close to him, wondering why Zabuza had hit her. She hadn't done anything to disobey him or disrespect him. She was the sweetest, most quiet, shyest girl he knew. She never did anything wrong, why did he do that?

"Zabuza-san?" Zabuza looked down at Haku again and sighed. "Why'd you do that?"

"Sada won't be staying with us any longer." Zabuza said in a monotone voice.

"What do you mean?" Haku asked quietly.

"He means that she's going with me." Orochimaru said, walking closer to them with his shinobi following.

"Nande?" Haku asked quietly.

"Haku..." Zabuza stopped. Haku looked at him with the saddest eyes he had seen in years, and Zabuza shook his head. He couldn't go back, they needed this money and those shinobi. "Orochimaru is interested in Sada's kekkei genkai, we made a trade. Sada, for all this." Zabuza stated.

"Demo Zabuza-san," Haku whispered. "She's been my best friend for years." Zabuza kept his emotionless face, trying to block emotions, and looked at Orochimaru. "She's precious to me." Orochimaru chuckled in amusement and looked back at one of his shinobi.

"Grab the girl, we have alot of work to do." he hissed. The shinobi nodded and walked closer to Haku.

"Haku, hand her over." Zabuza ordered. Haku looked at Zabuza again, his eyes were pleading with him.

'Don't let them take Sada away.'

"Haku." Haku sighed and stood upm still holding Sada in his arms. "Hand her over." Haku looked at his master and looked at Orochimaru.

"Is the deal off then?" Orochimaru asked, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "If so, I want my shinobi back."

"It's not, Haku hand the girl over." Zabuza snapped. Haku looked down at Sada one more time, before handing his best friend over to the enemy.

"Arigato." Orochimaru slurred. "You're money." He tossed a bag to Zabuza and turned on his heal. "Let's go."

"Come on Haku." Zabuza ordered. Haku nodded and stared at Sada until Orochimaru disappeared into the shadows, followed by his shinobi. He sighed and followed Zabuza.

'Why Zabuza?' As if Zabuza could read Haku's mind, he said

"Sada was a very gifted shinobi, but her gift was able to help us build up our group."

"Why is he so interested in her?" Haku asked. "She's only a child." Zabuza chuckled and said

"Sada will get out, he won't be able to hold her with her kekkei genkai...unless they find a way to suppress it."

"You told him about Sada-chan's kekkei genkai?" Haku asked in shock. Zabuza chuckled and looked at his young companion.

"I didn't say that." he replied.

"How is he interested if he didn't know what it was?" Haku asked confused.

"I merely told him that Sada has a very powerful kekkei genkai, that she can get into most places that normal shinobi can't." Zabuza answered. Haku looked at him still slightly confused, and Zabuza smirked. "He thinks she's a teleporter I believe. If she doesn't escape, I'll be shocked. She'll find her way back to us." Haku sighed and looked up at the sky.

'Please Sada...forgive me.'

　**Author's Note: How sad, and everything was going so well in Sada's life. How tragic this is. Stupid Orochimaru, why did you want Sada of all things? Couldnd't you have been content with some ancient relic or whatever? Why, grrr! We don't like you! How dare you take Sada away. Hope you guys liked it and here's the preview.**

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER FOUR_

_'Putting people against others, the chance that you might not survive if you don't fight, it's genius. He's trying to scare everyone into going against each other. Especially if he's letting us use jutsu again.' I ducked seeing a fist come at my head and kicked the person into a wall. 'And it's working.' Everyone was fighting, trying to kill each other off. The chances of me surviving this were slim to none; well that's what they thought. I gasped seeing the same person trying to tackle me and dodged. 'I have to hide my kekkei genkai from Orochimaru, he can't see it.' I quickly broke the man's neck and looked around seeing chaos. Everyone, was fighting. I shook my head sadly and gasped seeing I was surrounded. 'This is not good.'_


	5. Chapter Four: Trapped

After making it back to the base, Orochimaru ordered the girl be put in a cell. Zabuza had told him nothing of her kekkei genkai, so he had to figure it out on his own. He sighed in slight frustration, hating that _he _would have to be the one to discover her kekkei genkai. Whatever this ability was though, he knew it would be of use to him. If this girl could get into normal places that other shinobi couldn't, then it would be a huge advantage for him. Perhaps he'd manage to copy this ability and inject it into his other followers, giving them the same ability. He licked his lips and looked at the Akatsuki ring on the hand of his original body. Hopefully they had stopped searching for him for the time being. He didn't need to put up with them, they were just another annoyance to add to all the others.

"Orochimaru-sama?" a voice said. Orochimaru looked back and smiled at the white haired boy Kimimaru.

"Come in, what news do you bring me?" he asked.

"Well, the shinobi you assigned to watch the girl are having...difficulties dealing with her." Kimimaru replied, bowing his head in respect.

"How so?" Orochimaru asked, slightly annoyed.

"They explained nothing to me." Kimimaru answered, not liking his Lord's tone of voice. "Just that they were having difficulties restraining her.

"Her kekkei genkai." Orochimaru pondered, wondering if that's what she was doing. How would the girl manage to use her kekkei genkai in her cell, all jutsu were locked off. It was impossible to mold chakra in the rooms. "Of course, take me to the girl."

"This way Orochimaru-sama." Kimimaru said, walking out the door; Orochimaru followed him.

As they walked down the hallways, all his followers nodded or showed some form of respect to him. He wasn't really caring at the moment, he just wanted to see the girl's kekkei genkai. They finally arrived at the girl's cell, and Orochimaru walked in without a second thought. He scowled seeing all his guards on the floor unconscious. He looked over at the girl.

'What did she do?'

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I looked up from the floor, hearing the door open, and in walked Orochimaru. Another man followed him in and stood behind him respectfully. 'What does he want with me? Where am I? Why am I here? What happened to Haku, and Zabuza?' Orochimaru finally looked in my direction, after staring at the unconscious guards for a few seconds, and I looked down at the floor. I didn't want to look in his creepy yellow eyes, they were too intimidating. He also looked slightly angry. It might've been from where I'd released one of my many mental blocks to drain enough chakra from the enemy to make them fall unconscious. I hadn't released my mental blocks since I'd set them up, but I'd thought if I could get them unconscious I could escaped, that hadn't worked out since the man behind Orochimaru had locked me in.

"Girl." I snapped my head up from the floor and looked at Orochimaru. "What's your name?" Orochimaru asked, sounding creepy. I looked down again, and he hissed angrily. "Answer me"

"Sada." I whispered, not wanting him to hit me or something.

"What did you do to my men?" he asked, sounding angry. I shrugged, not feeling like I had to answer him, and glanced up at him through my hair. I wanted to know where the hell I was.

"Where am I, what's going on, why am I here, where's Zabuza-san and Haku-kun, what do you want from me?" I said all this in one breath, and he looked at me amused.

"You are at my base." he said, answering the first question.

"Nande?" I asked, not understanding.

"Your master made a trade with me, everything I gave him for you." he answered, smirking in amusement. I looked down sadly and stared at the floor.

'Why did Zabuza do this to me?'

"Do have anymore questions?" he slurred.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, not understanding why Zabuza had handed me over to this creep.

"Your kekkei genkai." he stated, like that was the obvious reason. "Zabuza said it was powerful, but he failed to tell me what it was. That's up to you to show me now."

"I won't show you it." I whispered, he had no right to order me around. I didn't belong to him or anyone.

"Of course not. I knew you would say no, that's why I'll have my medical shinobi figure it out." he slurred. I gasped and stared up at him. I shook my head, not wanting to be prodded at like some animal, and he smirked. "Unless you decide to show me that is."

'I can't show it to him, especially if Zabuza didn't tell him then he didn't want him to know.' I didn't answer him and instead, looked down at the floor.

"Very well, I'll give you time to think on it little one." He walked out of the room followed by his little follower and the guards.

I looked over at the door and sighed hearing a click. 'It's locked. Oh well, I can always phase.' I smiled to myself, wondering how stupid this guy was, and put my hand on the wall. I pushed, nothing. 'Nani?' I pushed my hand harder against the wall, nothing again. 'What's going on? I can't phase?' I was starting to panic now, how was I supposed to get out if I couldn't phase? I looked around and finally stood up. I pressed my hand against the opposite wall, nothing. I tried another wall, again nothing. I tried the last wall, again no change. 'Maybe the door.' I walked over to the door and pressed my hand against it. 'Please work.' Nothing.

I was trapped, I had no way to get out, and Zabuza wasn't going to come to my rescue. I had a feeling Haku wanted to, but Zabuza wouldn't allow it. I slumped against the door and felt something hit my neck. I looked down and saw a necklace hanging around my neck. 'Where did this come from? Matte, Haku gave it to me before I was taken away.' The crystal was so beautiful, the lights were reflecting off it, the rainbow colors were appearing on the floor. 'He doesn't want me to forget him, he would've taken it back if he didn't care about me.' I smiled slightly and grabbed the crystal. It made me feel so happy, like Haku was right there with me. I missed him, I missed him so much. 'I'll never forget you Haku, someday...we'll meet again.'　

_TIMESKIP, AGE TEN_

I sighed sadly and looked around the lovely room I was trapped in; It was so boring. Orochimaru could have at least decorated it a little for his prisoners, it would've made them feel a little more comfortable. 'It's not fair! It's my tenth birthday, and I'm trapped in here. What did I do to deserve this?' Nine months, I'd been in this place for nine months unable to escape. I had no idea why I wasn't able to phase through the walls or the door, but it didn't really matter. I couldn't get out of here so what was the point in wondering? I was still trying to figure it out even though I couldn't get out, but nothing I thought of could explain it. I sighed and shook my head sadly. 'Why did Zabuza do this to me?' I heard a click and looked up hearing the door open. Some random sound ninja, what did he want? 'Stupid fool.'

"Get up!" he ordered.

I sighed and stayed right where I was. He couldn't tell me what to do. Maybe if he had asked nicely I would have considered it, but I didn't like rude people. He growled and grabbed my hair. I yelped at the pain, and he chuckled.

"I said get up, so you're supposed to get up kid." I stared at the floor but got up anyway. I didn't want my hair ripped out of my head, that would really hurt. "Let's go."

He led me out the door and down the hallway of the base. I hadn't been outside my little prison that many times, but when I was outside it I was half asleep so that didn't help my situation any. I didn't know if I could phase, but I was pretty sure it was impossible. If the entire base was like the room I was imprisoned in, then I sure as hell wasn't able to phase. He opened a door and pushed me inside. I looked around and saw a large group of people standing in there. They all looked like me, scared.

"All right then."

I looked up and saw Orochimaru standing at the main door. I looked at the stairs that led up to it and sighed. There was no way I'd even get all the way up them without being noticed. I was a kid, but someone would eventually notice; I wasn't small enough.

"All of you must know that we're running low on rooms for our guests." Orochimaru said in his creepy voice

'Guests? We're not being treated like guests then.'

"So to make more available room we need to eliminate many of you." Orochimaru stated, with a smirk. There were gasps along with many outbursts from the people.

"Who do you think you are?"

"You can't kill us!"

"Don't even try it!"

"We outnumber you!"

"Now to continue, you will fight for your survival. Who ever wins this fight, shall live. All chakra has been restored in this room, any abilities you have, use them" Orochimaru said.

'Putting people against others, the chance that you might not survive if you don't fight, it's genius. He's trying to scare everyone into going against each other. Especially if he's letting us use jutsu again.' I ducked seeing a fist come at my head and kicked the person into a wall. 'And it's working.' Everyone was fighting, trying to kill each other off. The chances of me surviving this were slim to none; well that's what they thought. I gasped seeing the same person trying to tackle me and dodged. 'I have to hide my kekkei genkai from Orochimaru, he can't see it.' I quickly broke the man's neck and looked around seeing chaos. Everyone, was fighting. I shook my head sadly and gasped seeing I was surrounded. 'This is not good.'　

_HOURS LATER_

I looked around at all the dead corpses and plopped on the ground tiredly. I didn't have to use my kekkei genkai, that was a good thing since I'd needed to keep it hidden for a long amount of time, but I had ended up using some of my darkness techniques. I'd even released another mental block, draining chakra from my enemies. That wasn't good. Zabuza had told me to never release them, but I'd had to. It was the only way to survive. It had only been one, so it wasn't that bad. I still had a ton of mental blocks set up, and I only drained chkra when I focused on draining chakra. I bet Orochimaru was very interested in my techniques. 'Clapping.'

"Bravo, good job little one." I looked at Orochimaru, and he walked down the steps. I looked above and watched some sound shinobi follow him. "I was hoping to see your kekkei genkai, but those techniques were very advanced." I stared at him, I didn't understand how he could be so calm about a 'child' winning this little fight of his. "Of course I knew you would win. My main reason for this battle was to see your jutsu."

'Of course? I don't like what he's planning.' He stopped a few meters from me and I stood up, still on my guard.

"I'm guessing from your jutsu, you're from the Village Hidden in the Dark?" He already knew he was right, why was he asking me? I nodded, and he chuckled. "I could also see that chakra was being drained from each shinobi, and it seems as if you've gained chakra instead of losing it. Where did this technique come from?" I shrugged, how was I supposed to know? I'd just been born with the ability. "You are one stubborn child, you won't tell me anything will you?"

"I'll tell you things that you guess correctly." I said quietly. "Nothing will I give on my free will." He chuckled, why was he laughing?

"Of course, so I must guess your kekkei genkai." he said amused.

'How am I amusing? I was just being serious...and quiet...but besides me being quiet I was being serious, what's going on?'

"Maybe..." I looked up, and he smirked. "If you're on the brink of death you'll tell."

'I really don't like the sound of that.' The sound shinobi behind Orochimaru jumped over him and infront of me. 'This is not good, demo...they're teenagers so they shouldn't be that tough.'

"Who goes first?" The one with six arms inquired.

"No idea, who wants to go first?" the one with the blue hair asked.

"I think all of us want to go first Sakon." the girl said.

"Can we just hurry up and get this over with?" the last one asked.

"Shut up you lard!" the girl shouted. "We're trying to figure out who goes first."

"Let's attack together." the six armed guy said.

"Let's." said Sakon

'I'm in trouble.' I stared at them and watched marks move onto their skin. 'What in the world is going on? What is that?' They jumped forward ready to attack. 'I don't know what to do, they probably saw my darkness jutsus...only one option.' I dodged.

"Hey you little brat, get your ass over here!" the girl yelled angrily.

"Tayuya shut up already." said the six armed guy.

"Make me Kidoumaru!" Tayuya yelled.

"Both of you stop it." said Sakon "Jiroubou go left, Tayuya right, Kidoumaru behind her, I've got front."

'Oh crap.' I watched them all get into their places, and I looked around at them. 'How do I get out of this one?' They ran at me, and I got an idea. Right when they all were about to hit me, I ran. I was fast, running with Haku for years had made me a lot faster than I would ever had been if I had never met him. They all collided with each other, and I stared at them.

"Ouch!" Sakon yelled.

"What the hell!" Tayuya screamed.

"That hurt!" Kidoumaru yelled.

"How'd she do that?" Jiroubou asked, sounding confused. I stared at them all and felt someone come up behind.

"You all are pathetic, can't even defeat a child." Orochimaru hissed angrily. I looked back at him over my shoulder, and he glared at me. "I'll show you how it's done."

'This doesn't sound like it's going to be fun.'

**_Author's Note: I feel so sorry for poor little Sada. She's been taken away from her best friend, betrayed by her mentor, and now she has Orochimaru trying to figure out her kekkei genkai. How much does that suck? Whole bunches or alot, I'd say. Hope you guys are liking it and are noticing some of the small changes from the original version._**

_PREVIEW:CHAPTER FIVE_

_Years had went by, three years of being unable to escape. Why was I so weak? Why couldn't I get myself out of here? Orochimaru had discovered what my kekkei genkai was, he tried to figure out how I had got it since none of my family members had it. He couldn't come to a conclusion about it, even his medical shinobi couldn't figure it out. Experimentation after experimentation had failed, he hadn't figured it out and Orochimaru was quite the impatient being. I didn't understand why this all had to be happening to me. Why couldn't I phase through these walls? What was stopping me from doing it? What if I couldn't ever escape, I'd be trapped here forever._


	6. Chapter Five: Liberation

__

THREE YEARS LATER, AGE THIRTEEN

Years had went by, three years of being unable to escape. Why was I so weak? Why couldn't I get myself out of here? Orochimaru had discovered what my kekkei genkai was, he tried to figure out how I had got it since none of my family members had it. He couldn't come to a conclusion about it, even his medical shinobi couldn't figure it out. Experimentation after experimentation had failed, he hadn't figured it out and Orochimaru was quite the impatient being. I didn't understand why this all had to be happening to me. Why couldn't I phase through these walls? What was stopping me from doing it? What if I couldn't ever escape, I'd be trapped here forever. I sighed absentmindedly and looked around my room, trying to keep myself from going completely insane. I'd seen this room so many times, yet I continued staring at it. What was wrong with me? Perhaps I was hoping if I continued staring around my room, the walls would just disintegrate or something. It wasn't happening as quickly as I would have liked if it was going to happen. 'A click.' I sighed and watched the door open.

"Dinner for you, your majesty." Tayuya said with plenty of sarcasm.

She dropped the plate on the ground, and I listened to its ring throughout the room. I also heard the food scatter a bit, that wasn't good. I looked down and heard the door shut. 'Click, locked.' I sighed and crawled over to the tray looking at the food she had left me. It wasn't alot, but it was still something. This was so much worse then being trapped in the prison when I was five. I stared at the wall, not really thinking about what I was eating, and thought about other things. That's all I was doing lately was thinking. What else could I do?

I sighed to myself and looked down at the silverish tray. I could see my reflection in it, but I didn't look like me. Well in a way I did, but then again I didn't. There were circles under my eyes, my eyes were bloodshot, my skin didn't really look like skin, I was so pale. The only thing that helped me remember my identity, was my hair. It was still so beautiful, that was the one thing that reminded me of who I was, my hair. Of course I'd been taking care of it myself, but I was doing a rather good job. I couldn't smile, it's as if I had forgotten how to. After all these years, I'd still held onto the one thing that was precious to me...my necklace; Haku's necklace. I remembered that he used to wear it everyday to remind himself of who he was. He had given it to me, before I was taken away. I missed him so much. He was my best friend, I didn't know what I'd do if I ever saw him again. I'd probably cry tears of sadness along with happiness. Oh how I wish he could have rescued me from my fate.

_BOOM_　

'Explosions? What's going on?' I stared at the door waiting for someone to come bursting in my room, what was happening? 'Running, people are running, but who?' I stared more, what was going on? Had one of the Sound shinobi accidentally exploded something during training? 'More running, and that sounds like kunai as well. A...a battle!' I could feel my heart racing, enemies of Orochimaru were here. I had a chance, a new chance for life if they rescued me. I watched the door, waiting, waiting for it to open. Suddenly the clashes, yelling, and running stopped. 'A click.' The door opened, and some shinobi walked in. They weren't Sound shinobi but shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

I'd heard long ago from Zabuza that the Village Hidden in the Leaves was quite a welcoming village. They took people in and brought it upon themselves to rescue and help people. They were rather soft when it came to battle, they weren't really the type of shinobi that enjoyed killing each other. They were allies with a great many number of villages and one of their main goals was to stop evil. Sounded like a load of bull to me, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to be somewhere that I wouldn't have people experimenting on me all the time, people that would accept me for who I was, and a village that didn't just kill people for the heck of it. Saving the world though…eh, I didn't like that sound of that too much.

"Get the girl." one of them instructed. "Be gentle with her, she looks very fragile."

'I'm fragile now?' Another nodded and the other man cautiously walked over to me, I guess he was trying not to scare me or something.

"We're going to get you out of here, along with everyone else." he whispered. I nodded, and he gently lifted me into his arms.

"Let's go find more of the prisoners." the first said. My savior nodded and followed the Jounin out of the room. We left the room, and a Chunin ran up to the Jounin leader.

"Orochimaru's escaped." he said. "Along with a good number of his followers."

"Did you see him?" asked the Jounin holding me.

"No, but we saw some shinobi escaping. They were saying 'Hurry Orochimaru-sama, they're coming'." the Chunin replied

"Damn it." the other Jounin cursed. "Let's merely find all the prisoners in here and take them back to the village." The Chunin nodded and ran off to tell his companions of their new orders. The Jounin looked in my direction and said "Take her outside Ryo, there are medical shinobi out there that need to look over her." Ryo nodded and walked down the hallway looking for an exit.

"What were you doing in there child?" he asked, walking towards the exit. I looked up at him and sighed sadly.

"I was...taken away." I whispered quietly.

"It's alright, that will never happen again. The Leaf Village will make sure that Orochimaru never hurts you again." Ryo said smiling.

I couldn't smile; I nodded and looked around the hallway. 'Doubt it, no one can stop Orochimaru if his mind is set on something.' He carried me outside, and I looked around the area before focusing my thoughts on trying to phase. I touched his arm lightly with my hand, and it went through it. I pulled it back through and stared at it. 'So it was that place that was stopping me from phasing?' A few shinobi walked over to us, looking at Ryo.

"What's the orders?" one of them asked.

"We're looking for imprisoned people at the moment, your orders are to look over them and treat their wounds." Ryo said. They nodded, and Ryo looked down at me. "Don't worry, these people are going to help you." I nodded, and he handed me over to the medical shinobi. "Be careful with her, she's extremely fragile."

'Fragile again? What the heck?' They nodded and while they were looking over me, I spaced out wondering what was going to happen to me.

"Hey." I looked at one of the shinobi, and she smiled. "Get some rest ok? We'll be leaving shortly." I nodded and closed my eyes. I didn't even notice when I lost consciousness.　

_HOURS LATER, THE LAND OF FIRE_

I opened my eyes and looked around the area we were in. 'A forest?' After being inside for years, I loved the scenery outside, it was all so beautiful. I stared at everything around me and finally looked at all the shinobi around us. All of them were carrying someone, Orochimaru had a ton of prisoners I was guessing. I let a soft sigh pass through my lips and looked up at the dark night sky. All the stars were just so shimmery, it was so dazzling. I began counting, wondering if I could be my old record of four hundred and eighty nine.

"You can't help, but wonder what kind of horrors these people went through." Ryo said, I turned my attention to him and the shinobi he was speaking with.

"Who knows what Orochimaru did to these people?" the shinobi beside Ryo said. Ryo shrugged and sighed to himself.

"At least they'll all be safe in the village." he said.

"That is, if they want to stay." the other said.

"Asa, how can you say they won't stay in the village?" Ryo asked shocked. "The Village Hidden in the Leaves would be the safest place for them." Asa shrugged boredly and said

"Some of them might want to go back to their home villages." Ryo nodded, realizing Asa's point, and sighed.

"You're probably right." he said.

"We're approaching the village!" someone yelled from the front.

"We'll just see how many stay." Asa said.

I looked away from Ryo and Asa, moving my gaze towards the village. It was absolutely huge. I couldn't believe my eyes, how could the Village Hidden in the Leaves be this big? I shook my head slightly confused and closed my eyes. 'I can't handle this, what's going to happen to me?' I opened my eyes after a few minutes and looked at the inside of the village. It was so gorgeous. 'Wow.'

"Are any of the people awake?" a voice asked from the front. I looked up at Ryo right when he looked down at me, and he smiled.

"Here sir!" Ryo yelled.

"Take her to see the Hokage." the voice said.

Ryo nodded and carried me off somewhere. There was this huge building, circular shaped it looked like. It must've been the main building or something like that. Ryo carried my up the stairs and down the hallway.

"Don't be scared." he told me. "The Hokage is a kind man, he'll make sure you get taken care of." I nodded, and he gently set me on my feet. He knocked on a door, putting an arm around my back to hold me up since I was slightly weak, and a voice said

"Enter." Ryo opened the door and led me inside. I looked up and saw a rather old man sitting behind a desk.

'So this is the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves? He's old.'

"Hokage-sama." Ryo said, bowing.

"Ah, Ryo. What can I do for you?" the Hokage asked, setting down his pipe.

"We've brought back a number of Orochimaru's prisoners as you ordered sir." he replied. "This girl is one of them." The Hokage finally looked at me and smiled kindly.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Sada." I whispered.

"Well Sada, would you like to stay in my village?" he asked me. I had no where to go, and I knew how welcoming the Leaf Village was; I nodded. "Excellent. Are you a shinobi?" I nodded again. "What rank?"

"I don't have one." I whispered.

"Of course, create some clones for me." he said after a moment.

"Demo Hokage-sama-" Ryo started.

"I know what I'm doing." the Hokage interrupted. I made the handsigns and created four clones. "Good work, you're a Genin."

I nodded, knowing I was actually above Genin rank, but didn't complain. He got up from his desk, walking over to me. He handed me a headband along with some keys and some money.

"Ryo will show you to your apartment. There are already supplies in there so you won't have to supply it yourself." I nodded, and he sighed. "Come here some time tomorrow so I can assign you to your new team." I nodded for what seemed like the billionth time and bowed slightly.

"Arigato." I whispered

"Your welcome child." the Hokage replied. I followed Ryo out of the building, and he took me to my new apartment.

"Here you are, hope things go well for you."

I nodded a thank you and went inside my apartment. I walked into the bedroom and looked through the drawers of the dresser. There were actually clothes in there. I stared at the blankly for a second before making myself a really cool outfit out of them. I looked in the mirror and nodded to myself. 'This looks ok.' I was wearing a pair of black semi baggy jeans with some rips at the knees and in other random places, fishnets under the jeans, ninja sandals, and a long sleeved fishnet shirt with a dark purple tank top over it. I got out of my new clothes and put on my pajamas. I slipped under the covers of my bed and stared at the ceiling thinking. 'Well…I've finally escaped from Orochimaru, what happens to me now? What will my new team be like? Will people dislike me? What if I can't deal with all this sudden change? Ok, calm down Sada. You can do this. You're just slightly paranoid about everything that's happened in the past four years. Everything will be alright.' I nodded, assuring myself that everything would work out, and closed my eyes tiredly. I didn't even notice when I fell asleep.

**_Author's Note: So I'm pretty happy that things with this story are moving quickly, I haven't been having to do too much re-writing so far, but I'm pretty sure it's coming. So troublesome, I used to suck as a writer...anywho! Yeah, I hope you like it so far =]_**

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER SIX_

_Kakashi sighed, apparently annoyed that I had hid behind him, and stepped behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders and said_

_"This is your new team mate, Sada." I looked up at all of them through my bangs and quickly looked down, seeing them staring at me. "Well introduce yourselves you three."_

_"I'm Sakura." said the girl._

_"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next Hokage. Believe it!" the blonde yelled._

_"Could you not be so loud Naruto?" Sakura asked annoyed. I looked up at the raven haired boy, not hearing him say anything, and Sakura said "That's Sasuke by the way."_


	7. Chapter Six: Correspondence

I groaned quietly and turned over on my side trying to get more sleep; it was impossible though. I wasn't used to sleeping on a bed so it was really weird for me. I finally sat up and looked around my room. I had a rather nice apartment, the Hokage was a very generous man. I got out of bed and slowly got dressed in my new outfit. I put my head band around my waist and looked around for my hair brush. I brushed my hair and stared at my reflection in the mirror. It was different then what I had seen at Orochimaru's base, in a way I looked...beautiful. How this had happened over night, I didn't know, but it seemed to me that I looked beautiful. It was probably the extra amount of rest I'd received, the good food, and no more experiments. I shook my head and moved my blue-violet hair infront of my face. 'I can't deal with people staring at me.'

I sighed and walked into the kitchen, eating a quick breakfast. It was around two in the afternoon, but that didn't matter. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all. I looked on the counter and saw a weapons pouch sitting there. I looked inside it and was surprised to see actual ninja gear in there. 'The Hokage must really take care of his people.' I quickly put on my weapons pouch and walked out of my apartment, onto the street. I looked around curiously, studying the area, before finally heading towards the Hokage's building. People stared at me as I passed but like I usually would, I didn't look at them. I walked into the building and stared at the Hokage with a blank expression.

"Konnichiwa Sada." he said, recognizing my presence. I nodded respectfully and stared at him. "Your sensei will be here shortly." I nodded again and a few minutes later, a man poofed out of no where a little ways infront of me.

"Gomen. I know I'm late," he apologized. "Demo-"

"Save the excuses Kakashi," the Hokage said, sounding like he was used to this. "This is your new student."

The man named Kakashi looked back at me, and I stared at him blankly. He had silver hair, it was some really funky hairstyle actually. He had a mask covering half his face, and his headband was covering his eye. He studied me for a moment and looked back at the Hokage.

"I see," he said.

"Her name is Sada. Sada this is Hatake Kakashi, your sensei," the Hokage said, introducing us. I nodded, and Kakashi sighed.

"Come on Sada. You have to come meet my other students," Kakashi said.

I nodded and bowed to the Hokage before following Kakashi out of the building. He looked over at me, and I stared at the ground. He sighed and pulled a book out boredly. I looked at it slightly disturbed for a second and finally went back to staring at the ground. We walked for a while until we came to a bridge. Three kids my age were standing there. The shortest out of the bunch was a blonde boy with blue eyes, he was wearing an orange jumpsuit, and was talking rather loudly. Beside him was a girl with long pink hair and green eyes, she was wearing a red summer kimono, and was rolling her eyes at the blonde. Lastly there was a boy with raven colored hair and onyx eyes, he was wearing a blue shirt and white khaki pants, he seemed rather annoyed with the boy and girl. What made it even more confusing was that the blonde boy was trying to talk to the girl, and the girl was trying to talk to the raven haired boy who was ignoring her as well as the blonde who was yelling at him. I looked at Kakashi confused for a moment, and he smiled under his mask.

"Don't worry, they always argue like this. You'll get used to it," he said. I nodded, not really convinced, and followed him over to my new team mates.

"That's it! I'm going to kick your ass," the blonde yelled at the raven haired boy. The raven haired boy rolled his eyes and muttered

"Whatever loser."

"What'd you say to me!?" the blonde yelled.

"Eh hem," Kakashi said. I hid behind Kakashi, and he said "Would you mind not arguing infront of your new team mate?"

"We have a new team mate?" the blonde yelled. "Where?" Kakashi sighed, apparently annoyed that I had hid behind him, and stepped behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders and said

"This is your new team mate, Sada." I looked up at all of them through my bangs and quickly looked down, seeing them staring at me. "Well introduce yourselves you three."

"I'm Sakura." said the girl.

"I'm Uzamaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next Hokage. Believe it!" the blonde yelled.

"Could you not be so loud Naruto?" Sakura asked annoyed. I looked up at the raven haired boy, not hearing him say anything, and Sakura said "That's Sasuke by the way." I looked at her for a second and quickly looked down.

"So what are we doing today Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Well we're merely doing some basic training today. Nothing too fancy, just a few jutsu here and there." Kakashi replied.

"So does that mean we don't have a mission?" Sakura asked.

"You will have a mission if we have any time left over." Kakashi said. I looked at my new team, and they all nodded.

"Ok, can we get started?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Loser," Sasuke muttered.

"Nani?" Naruto shouted.

"Come on you four," Kakashi said, walking off in some direction.

I looked at Kakashi's retreating figure for a minute and finally back at my team. They all walked passed me, following Kakashi. I looked down and slowly followed them, not saying anything. A few minutes passed in silence, besides Naruto's shouts of becoming Hokage, and finally Sasuke said

"Shut up Naruto." I looked up to find them all staring back at me. I stared at them as well and finally looked at the ground.

'What's wrong with me?'

"So Sada?" I looked up, and Sakura smiled at me. "Where are you from?" I saw Kakashi look back at us, and I let a sigh pass through my lips. It wasn't polite to not answer someone's question, Haku had always said so, I said

"The Village Hidden in the Dark." They all looked at me confused, not having heard of my village before, even Kakashi looked slightly confused.

"What's it like?" Naruto asked curiously. I looked at him for a short moment before turning my eyes back to the ground.

"Bad," I whispered.

"What do you mean exactly?" Sakura asked, not understanding.

"It's an absolute monarchy." I told them in a quiet voice. I glanced up, Sasuke looked quite interested in what I was saying about my village. I looked back down, not very comfortable with everyone's stares..

"What's that mean?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.

"It means that her village was ruled by a king," Sasuke said with a bored tone. I looked up at Sasuke again, and Naruto nodded like he understood.

"So you didn't have a kage?" Naruto confirmed, I shook my head in agreement. "How come?" I shrugged and looked at the ground for the billionth time.

"Why'd you leave?" Sakura asked.

'Apparently they don't know I was captured by Orochimaru.' I shook my head and forced myself not to cry. 'Why'd Zabuza have to betray me like that? I could still be with him and Haku today if he hadn't done this to me.'

"Alright we're here," Kakashi said. I looked up and around the training ground. "All of you go do whatever you feel you need to improve on." We nodded, and Sakura sighed.

"So Sasuke-kun, what do you want to work on?" she asked smiling.

Sasuke ignored her and continued looking around the training grounds. Sakura sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer, and walked off. Naruto had already left trying to work on one of his jutsu, and I looked over at the targets. 'Might as well.' I sighed and walked over there trying to pull myself together. 'I've got to make a new life, all of that other stuff is in the past. Stay calm Sada, don't freak out on anyone.' I brought out some kunai and looked at the targets. I brought my arm back and threw them. 'Perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect. Wow, that was too easy. Zabuza would be proud…so would Haku. My first time using kunai I completely sucked…didn't even hit one target.' I giggled to myself at the memory of me falling the first time I threw kunai and sighed while pulling out some shuriken.

I sighed again and stared at the targets. 'Focus.' I threw them. 'Perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect...I didn't throw that one.' I looked over and saw Sasuke walk over to me. I looked down and quickly walked over to the targets pulling the kunai and shuriken out. 'If he wants to practice here he can.' I looked at the kunai he had thrown wondering if I should give it to him but decided against it. I walked behind the targets and into the forest part of the training grounds. I needed a moment to be alone, I had to think about a few things. Well…not really think, I had to calm myself down. I was getting so upset I was going to cry. I looked around for a second and heard footsteps come up behind me. I looked back and saw Sasuke standing there. I looked down at the ground and waited for him to make some movement or say something.

"Nande?" he asked. I looked up, and he stared at me with no emotion. "Why'd you leave your village?" I glanced down, up, and down again.

"I...can't talk about it," I whispered.

It hurt too badly for me to say it out loud, saying that my parents didn't love me was something I wouldn't do. It was something I _couldn't_ do. It had been bad enough when I'd had to tell Zabuza and Haku years ago, I couldn't make myself say it again.

"You can," he told me. "You choose not to."

I looked back up at him, and his onyx eyes met my light red ones. I stared at him for a moment and walked passed him. 'He seems the same as me, but I can't say anything like this...not yet.'_A WEEK LATER_

"All right team no more missions for today." Kakashi said, turning the page of his nasty book.

"Demo Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whined. "One more mission, please."

"No more missions today Naruto," Kakashi said. "We'll continue tomorrow instead." Naruto sighed annoyed, and Kakashi looked up from his book. "I want all of you to meet me on the same bridge tomorrow at 7:00." We all nodded, and Kakashi made a hand sign. "Later." He teleported off, and Naruto sighed.

"Why couldn't we have another mission?" he asked Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei knows what's best." Sakura said. "Respect his opinion." Naruto nodded boredly, and Sakura looked at Sasuke. "So Sasuke-kun do you want to-"

"I'm leaving." Sasuke said, walking off. Sakura sighed dissapointed, and Naruto said

"Do you want me to walk you home Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah right you wish," Sakura said, turning back into her proud obnoxious self. "I'll walk myself home."

"Demo-"

I sighed to myself and walked off, tuning out their loud and annoying conversation. 'Home, this place is my new home. Why can't I call it home though?' I thought for a few minutes while I walked down the streets and finally came to a conclusion. 'It's not my home. That's why I can't call it that, I don't belong here.' I sighed sadly and turned the corner. 'Why can't I feel like I belong here? I want to belong here, I wish I did but I don't. I'd give anything to be the same, like these people.' I looked around at all the people in the street, laughing, smiling, they were so carefree. Why couldn't I be like that? Why couldn't I belong?

"Hey Sada-chan!" I looked back to see Naruto running towards me, I was slightly surprised he barely knew me and was already adding a suffix to my name. I looked at him curiously, and he smiled. "Me, Sakura-chan, and Sasuke are going out to eat together. Do you want to come with us?"

I looked at him, half shocked for a second, and finally shook my head. I couldn't associate with them yet, I was too much of an emotional wreck. He looked at me sadly and said

"Why not?"

"I-I just don't think I should," I stuttered.

"Of course you should, come on." He grabbed my hand and led me down the street. "It'll be fun, trust me. We want to get to know you better," Naruto said grinning. I looked at him for a second slightly confused and finally looked down.

I'd been in Konoha for a good week, and I'd been trying to keep my distance from my team. I wanted to make friends, but I didn't feel like I could just yet. I didn't fit in with them, I was an outcast. They were all rather polite to me when they spoke, but they only spoke when they had to. I was mostly ignored, and I'd learnt a ton about my team through observing this whole week. Kakashi was always late no matter where he was going, and he always had some lame excuse when he was late. Sakura was madly in love with Sasuke, always swooning over him, trying to get his attention. Naruto had a huge crush on Sakura and was always trying to impress her by showing Sasuke up, he always had some reason to yell at Sasuke. Sasuke, he hated how Sakura clung to him, and was easily annoyed with Naruto yelling about how he would beat him in whatever they did. This was insane.

"Are you...ok?" Naruto asked, snapping my attention back to him. He sounded worried, he just wasn't used to the way I was though.

"I'm fine," I said quietly. He nodded and sighed.

"Ok."

He didn't believe me, I could tell; I wasn't able to make myself tell him the truth though. He led me down the street and into a restraunt. I had no clue where we were, but Naruto apparently did.

"Guys we're here," Naruto said, leading me over to a table.

"Finally! You took forever Naruto," Sakura complained.

"Gomen," Naruto apologized.

Naruto sat beside Sakura, leaving the only available seat by Sasuke. I glanced at him for a second before I sat down beside him. I could tell Sakura was upset, I didn't even have to look at her to know that. She liked Sasuke, but he didn't like her; the consequences of falling in love.

"So…who's ordering for us?" Naruto asked, the question was completely pointless. A waitress would come to take our order, and we ordered for ourselves. That's how all restraunts worked.

"We order for ourselves when the waitress comes back," Sasuke said annoyed. Sakura giggled, and Naruto rolled his eyes. The waitress popped out of no where, and Naruto said

"Can you get me the ramen special?" She nodded and wrote it down. She looked at Sakura, and she said

"Can I have Chanko Nabe?" she asked, was she on a diet or something? Another nod, and more writing; Sasuke's turn.

"Sukiyaki." he said boredly. Nodding, more writing, then her head turned to me. I didn't have my money with me, I'd forgotten it at my apartment; I shook my head.

"Nothing for me," I said quietly.

"Are you sure?" she asked. I nodded, and Sasuke said

"Get her Sukiyaki." I looked over at Sasuke confused and heard Sakura gasp quietly; apparently she was just as surprised as I was. Naruto looked as confused as I was at the moment. "I'll pay for it, don't worry about it."

I looked at him blankly for a moment before finally nodding. The waitress came back with our food after a few minutes, and we all ate in silence. 'I thought this whole get together was to get to know each other. Oh well, silence is better for me than talking.'

"So…are we going to talk or what?" Naruto asked finally.

"I just remembered that I have to get home and help my mom. Gomen guys," Sakura said, looking directly at Sasuke.

"It's ok Sakura-chan." Naruto said, ignoring that she wasn't looking at him. "We can try this again another time." Sakura left her money on the table and left the restraunt. Now it was me, Naruto, and Sasuke. "So..." Neither me nor Sasuke said anything, and Naruto sighed. "I have to get heading home too, bye."

Naruto left his money as well and walked out. Now it was me and Sasuke; great. I felt more comfortable around Sasuke than both Sakura and Naruto. I didn't understand why, but I could see in his eyes that he felt the same way I did. Like an outcast, like he didn't belong…alone even. I looked over at Sasuke, and he was staring at the two empty seats infront of us. Thinking that he might want some more room, I attempted to get up, and was stopped by him.

"Stay," he asked of me. I nodded and plopped back in my seat. He didn't say anything again for a few minutes so I finished my food and finally made myself look at him.

"Sasuke."

He looked at me emotionlessly, but there was something different in his eyes than I normally saw. I didn't know what it was, but it was different then his usual emotionless look. He looked more comfortable being near me than being around other people.

"Arigato…for buying me dinner." I said quietly. He nodded and said

"Will you do something for me?" I nodded, slightly confused, and he stood up. "Come walk with me for a while."

I nodded again and got up with him. We left the restraunt after Sasuke left our portion of the bill and walked down the street. I had no idea where I was going or why I was following him, but I did anyway. We ended up walking into a meadow, and Sasuke sat down. He looked at me and motioned with his eyes for me to sit. I sat beside him, leaving plenty of space between us.

"You seem so distant." Sasuke said. I looked at him and nodded.

"I'm not the only one that seems distant," I whispered.

"You think I seem distant?" Sasuke asked curiously; I nodded. "Nande?

"I can see it in your eyes," I said quietly. I looked down and let my hair fall over my face. "They're filled with loneliness as well as hate."

He grabbed my head, not roughly, and made me look at him. I was close to him, very close, it made me uncomfortable yet I was comfortable in a way. I couldn't explain it, it was just weird. I could tell though, just from the way he was looking at me, that he felt comfortable being this close to me. It was extremely weird that we were both feeling the same way about each other. I wondered what he thought of me.

"How can you see that?" Sasuke asked. He didn't sound angry, more like...frustrated.

"It's something I've always been able to do," I whispered. He stared at me for a second and gently let go of my head. "Why did you bring me out here?" He moved his head in my direction and said

"I wanted to understand what was going through your head."

I nodded and stared at him curiously. 'Why is he so curious about me?' It was quiet for the longest time, neither of us said anything. We were both doing alot of serious thinking about each other. I was busy wondering what was going through Sasuke's head all the time, wondering what had happened to him to make him feel so alone, what made him distant from people. I had a feeling he was thinking the same thing about me. The sun was even about to set before Sasuke broke the silence, saying

"He made my life miserable. He killed everyone I cared about, I want to defeat him. I need to defeat him, it's my goal in life."

It would seem so random, to any normal person, but I wasn't normal in the least. This little statement of his made me understand him a little better. His reason for wanting revenge was someone, he hadn't said who, but someone killed everyone he cared about. That was also said why he was lonely, he had no one left that cared about him. He was all alone…just like me.

"Gomen," I whispered, knowing exactly how he was feeling. He felt alone, betrayed, misunderstood. He felt the exact same way I did, and I could see that in his eyes...we were the same.

"They don't understand," Sasuke stated. "Naruto or Sakura, but when I saw you…I could see something." I looked at him curiously, and he stared back at me. "Something in your eyes." I blinked, wondering if he was able to see the things in me that I saw in him and heard

"What are you two doing out here?" I looked over and saw Kakashi standing there. Sasuke looked away from me, his eyes locked on Kakashi, an emotionless gaze.

"Talking." he said bluntly.

"Well head home, we have alot of missions tomorrow." Kakashi said.

We nodded, and I slowly stood up from the ground. I glanced at Sasuke once before I head off towards my apartment, my thoughts focused on wondering what Sasuke had was thinking about_._

**_Author's Note: Alrighty, so that's about the gist of it. Those of you who read the original version can probably tell a difference in the meadow scene, a major difference at that. I'm trying to make Sasuke less OOC but it's slightly difficult since I don't know how he would act towards a girl he liked. *shrugs* Oh well, let me know if I did a decent job._**

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER SEVEN_

_"So what are we doing now sensei?" Sakura asked. I looked away from the river and towards Kakashi, wondering the same thing._

_"We have another mission." Kakashi replied._

_"Is it a good one?" Naruto asked excitedly. He jumped up and down a bit in excitement but also in impatience._

_"You'll see, now let's go." Kakashi said leading us off._

_Naruto looked at him disappointed for him keeping secrets but followed without complaining. We head towards the missions assignment building, and I looked around the room for a few seconds, not listening to anything going on. I never really did a bunch of paying attention at the beginning of these things, too much unnecessary information. I finally looked at the Hokage sitting behind a desk, he apparently already had a mission in mind for us._

_"You'll be escorting Tazuna to his home in the Land of Waves." the Hokage told. Naruto started muttering something about how he wanted to escort a princess, and Tazuna said with an unimpressed tone_

_"You've got to be kidding me. These brats are supposed to be protecting me?"_


	8. Chapter Seven: Confrontation

"I can't believe Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled angrily. "All those missions sucked." I sighed and leaned against a tree with my arms crossed. "Why can't we have something a little better?"

"Because Kakashi-sensei thinks we're not ready." Sakura said, arguing with him.

Missions, D-ranked missions. That's all we had been getting for the past two weeks I'd been on this team, and I guessed that Naruto thought if he complained, we'd get better missions; it wasn't happening. Harder missions were reserved for more advanced shinobi, such as Chunin, Jounin and such. D-ranked missions were for the Genin that had just graduated the Academy and were beginning to develop their skills. Naruto just didn't understand that, he thought he was all tough and could do anything. But most Genin were that way, too full of pride.

"Well maybe he's holding us back." Naruto said, not meaning it in the least.

"Yeah right." Sakura said, rolling her eyes "He knows what's best for us. That's why he's a sensei Naruto."

"Demo-."

I glanced over at Sasuke not hearing him say anything and found him looking at me. I stared at him for a second and looked down. Sasuke had been staring at me lately, since the day after the meadow incident. We didn't have anytime alone, and that made me a little more comfortable than I usually was when I was with my team. I didn't want time alone with him, I didn't want to know what he was thinking behind his dark eyes. I knew that he was a kind of person that would understand me, but I didn't feel like I could trust someone just yet. I'd need a little more time. Sakura didn't really talk to me that much, well she didn't talk to me alot in the beginning but ever since the dinner incident she'd avoided me. I guessed she was upset about the Sasuke buying me dinner thing, but her not talking to me just gave me more time to my own thoughts.

"Sada, are you ok? You seem distracted."

Naruto, he was out there. He tried talking to me everyday since we went out to dinner, it was like his goal to be Hokage, he never dropped it. He was very nice to me, but he wasn't very knowledgeable about the things I said. Every time he asked me something about my home and he didn't understand it, Sasuke would explain it and call him loser afterwards; this team was _extremely _insane. I nodded, and he sighed.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not seeming like he wanted to drop it. I nodded again, and he sighed again. Two sighs meant he'd give up for now.

"Alright team." Kakashi said, appearing out of no where.

"Aghhh!" Sakura yelled, jumping backwards.

"Woah, why'd you do that for Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well-"

"You just had to pop out of no where and scare us like that." Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

"Ha ha, he didn't scare me." Sakura lied, putting her hands on her hips.

'He did too.'

"Losers." Sasuke muttered.

I glanced over towards the river and stared down into the cool blue water. It was so clear, I could see some of the fish swimming around in it. I was also kind of daydreaming about the water. How awesome would it be to actually walk on water? Do cartwheels, back flips, all kinds of awesome moves on water. Maybe even dancing. That would just be so much fun.

"So what are we doing now sensei?" Sakura asked, breaking the awkward silence. I looked away from the river and towards Kakashi, wondering the same thing.

"We have another mission." Kakashi replied.

"Is it a good one?" Naruto asked excitedly. He jumped up and down a bit in excitement but also in impatience.

"You'll see, now let's go." Kakashi said leading us off.

Naruto looked at him disappointed for him keeping secrets but followed without complaining. We head towards the missions assignment building, and I looked around the room for a few seconds, not listening to anything going on. I never really did a bunch of paying attention at the beginning of these things, too much unnecessary information. I finally looked at the Hokage sitting behind a desk, he apparently already had a mission in mind for us.

"You'll be escorting Tazuna to his home in the Land of Waves." the Hokage told. Naruto started muttering something about how he wanted to escort a princess, and Tazuna said with an unimpressed tone

"You've got to be kidding me. These brats are supposed to be protecting me?"

"Tazuna a Jounin will be accompanying you so you need not worry." said the Hokage.

Tazuna gave a short nod, most likely disappointed at the so called "lack" of protection, and his eyes wandered over our squad. He _really_ didn't look all that impressed with us. He let a sigh escape his lips and turned his eyes away from us.

"When are we leaving?" asked Tazuna, looking at Kakashi.

"In one hour." Kakashi replied. "Everyone, go home and pack supplies. We don't know how long we'll be gone."

"Hai sensei." Sakura said respectfully.

"Gotcha Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said in his carefree tone.

"Hn." Sasuke muttered.

I just stared at Kakashi with a blank expression on my face and walked home. I walked into my apartment and looked around thoughtfully. 'I'd really like to have a bigger apartment…or maybe even a house. That'd be really nice…an actual house.' I sighed and headed to my bedroom to pack some clothes, my ninja gear, and some food. Once I had finished there I walked to the gates of the village to wait for my team. I looked around for a few minutes and finally leaned against a tree. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and heard footsteps. I opened my eyes and saw Sasuke walking towards me. 'What does he want?'

"Sada." he said.

"Sasuke." I acknowledged.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he asked. I looked at him curiously, wondering what he was going to say, and he stared at me. "Isolate yourself, you're always alone."

"So are you." I pointed out. He looked angry with me for a second but finally looked away from my eyes.

"Caring about people is weak." he said, sounding emotionless. "If you care about someone, there's always that chance they're going to get hurt. Then it will hurt you."

"That's what happened to you." I stated quietly, remembering how he'd told me about him losing everyone he cared about.

I felt bad for him, I knew he lived alone with no family. Naruto was the same way, but it didn't seem like it was really hurting him the way it hurt Sasuke. By the way he'd sounded when he told me about losing everyone, it sounded like he felt betrayed. I guessed that it might've been someone he knew that had killed his family, it really was awful. Sasuke nodded and looked at me again.

"Is that what happened to you?" he asked, wondering why I was hurting. I shook my head and looked away, not feeling like I was ready to talk about it. "Then what is?"

"I can't talk about it." I whispered, rubbing my arm self-consciously.

"Like I said before, you can but you choose not to." I looked up at him seeing him put his hand above my head and lean in closer. "You can tell me you know." he whispered in my ear. I flinched slightly, not understanding his closeness, but he continued. "Most people probably wouldn't understand, but I will. I won't judge you."

I looked up at him through my lashes, I was scared. Scared about how I believed that he would understand me, I didn't understand how someone I'd known for only two weeks could have an effect like this on me. I wanted to be able to trust him, I wanted someone I could call a friend. I'd lost Haku, and it seemed like Sasuke was someone that could make up for that vacant place in my heart.

"Sasuke-kun!" yelled Sakura.

Sasuke moved away from me and leaned against another tree with closed eyes, ignoring Sakura. I looked down again, wishing that I could make myself talk to him, and heard Kakashi say

"Alright team, ready to leave?"

"Oh yeah! Let's go! Village Hidden in the Mist here we come!" Naruto yelled with enthusiasm. Tazuna rolled his eyes, not amused in the least, and Kakashi sighed.

"Come on team." he said, getting out his book.

Sakura sighed and followed Kakashi without looking at Sasuke. She seemed rather sad, I felt bad for her. Sasuke finally opened his eyes from thinking, or whatever he was doing, and followed Kakashi as well. I walked behind them, very slowly, as usual. We walked for a good few hours, we didn't come upon any threats. But my guard went up when I saw a puddle appear in the middle of the dry season, that made no sense. 'Meizu and Gouzu the demon brothers, they work for Zabuza. I remember meeting them when I was with Zabuza...it was only for a few minutes, but I bet they remember me.' I looked around and saw that nobody, besides Kakashi, had noticed anything suspicious. 'What should I do?' Suddenly chains wrapped around Kakashi, and Sakura screamed in terror. Naruto had just noticed what happened and stood there in shock. I glanced over at Sasuke, and he was reaching for his weapons pouch, too slowly. I looked up from my feet, and Meizu smirked.

"Well if it isn't Sada." he said in an amused tone.

"We didn't think we'd see you again." Gouzu said, sounding just as amused.

"I'll go ahead and say this is the last time you'll ever see me as well." I said with a cold tone.

"Well go for it little girl." they said in unison. I glared at them and did some complicated handsigns. 'Childhood fears jutsu.'

It was a genjutsu, darkness related of course, it made anyone trapped in the jutsu see their childhood fears. Everything they used to fear up to the age of ten as a child, came back to haunt them in the genjutsu. No one could break free of it, at least I didn't think so. No one had managed to, so I guessed there was no way anyone could break free of it. Screaming, tons of screaming from them. I stared at them for a moment and finally looked back at my team.

'They're...afraid of me.' Sakura had a look of horror on her face, Naruto looked like he didn't understand how I even did that, Kakashi was looking at me with some complicated looked that I couldn't decipher, Tazuna wasn't really looking at me, Sasuke though his face stood out the most. He had a look of interest on his face, along with confusion as if he didn't understand my technique, and there was slight...worry? 'He was...worried about me?'

"Well...job well done Sada." Kakashi said after a few moments of silence, besides the screaming of the brothers. "If you wouldn't mind, could you release the genjutsu so I could question them on why they were trying to kill Tazuna?"

I nodded and released the jutsu. I backed up slowly and ran into the trees. I didn't go far, just far enough to where they couldn't see me from where they were standing. I leaned against a tree and looked down, closing my eyes. 'Why is everyone afraid of me? I only wanted to protect them? Why are people so judgmental? They don't understand how my village is, or how my techniques work. Why did I have to be stupid enough to use a darkness technique? I could've just used-'

"How did you do that?"

I looked up, snapping out of my thoughts, and saw Sasuke. He was staring at me, but not like he normally did; he was staring straight into my eyes. He was close as well, close enough to where I couldn't move away from him.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's one of my villages techniques." I whispered.

"It was advanced though, I could tell. How'd you...you're so..." He stopped, he seemed frustrated. More with himself than me. "You've acted so innocent and fragile the whole time you've been here, quiet, avoiding eye contact with everyone." he said, right when I looked down. He grabbed my chin and made me make eye contact with him. "Avoiding people, only talking about yourself when asked, and sad. You're always so sad, now this happens. You're so scared about what people think about your techniques. What's happened to you?"

"I-"

"Sasuke, Sada come on!" Kakashi yelled.

Sasuke sighed annoyed and walked out of the trees. I slowly followed him and looked at my other companions. Sakura was looking ahead as she walked, trying her hardest to ignore me, and Naruto was looking back at me. Sasuke was a few feet ahead of me so when Naruto walked back to me, I saw Sasuke glare at him.

"Hey Sada." Naruto greeted. I nodded and continued staring at the ground. "Are you ok?" I nodded again. "That technique was so awesome."

'Woah, that's a shocker.' I looked up at him curiously, and he grinned. It felt like he was trying to make friends with me.

"Arigato." I whispered, playing with a strand of my hair.

"So I was wondering, how did you learn it?" he asked curiously.

"It was a technique from my home village." I whispered, wondering why he'd asked such an obvious question. He nodded and said

"Well…I just wanted you to know that if you ever need someone to train with I'm here, okay?" I nodded to him, and he grinned again. "I'm going to make sure we're not being followed." I nodded for what felt like the tenth time, and he started throwing kunai in random directions.

"Loser." Sasuke muttered. I stared at the ground for a few minutes before I heard Naruto apologizing.

"I'm sorry Mr. Rabbit." he was saying.

'I know that rabbit, it's-'

All of a sudden mist blanketed the area. 'Oh no.' I swallowed nervously, this wasn't good. 'Zabuza.' There he was, my old master, Zabuza standing before us. This wasn't good at all, he would recognize me as soon as he saw me. I made my way to the very back of the group and stood behind them but kept my guard up. I wasn't going to let him see me...at least not yet.

"Well if it isn't Zabuza, the rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist." Kakashi said.

I looked at the ground not listening to Kakashi talk about Zabuza's past, since I already knew it, and tried my best to think of a strategy. I knew for one that Sakura wasn't going to be of any help, Sasuke would, and most likely Naruto. Of course Kakashi would attack him first, and if he wasn't careful he would get caught in Zabuza's jutsu. Hopefully that didn't happen, and I wouldn't have to show myself to him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled.

I looked up and saw Kakashi fighting Zabuza. I watched for mistakes, he was starting to get sloppy. 'No.' He was caught, Zabuza had imprisoned him in water. 'I can't go against Zabuza, he knows my techniques.' My eyes wandered to my team, and I shook my head. 'Out of all of them I have the best chance of winning since I know his techniques, but I have a chance of losing since he knows mine. I have to do this on my own.' I sighed and made my way through them to the front. He had made a clone and Naruto, being the idiot he was, had tried attacking him. I finally was infront of the group, and I moved my hair out of my face; something I hadn't done in years.

"Sada." Zabuza acknowledged. I looked at him and nodded. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"That means that both of us thought that." I said quietly.

"So you still talk in that innocent voice of yours eh?" he asked smirking. "Trying to convince everyone that you're as innocent as you look?"

"You don't know anything, nothing at all." I snapped.

"Of course not, I haven't seen you since-" he started.

"You betrayed me." I finished.

"It was business." he said amused. "You can join me again since you finally escaped." I heard Sakura gasp behind me, and I took a few steps forward.

"She wouldn't." Naruto whispered.

"You think that, but I have new loyalties." I stated. "A new village to serve, and I like it there. My loyalties don't waver, only when my trust in someone is broken do I change."

"Of course." he mused. "You're angry with me and seeking revenge." I nodded and glared at him. "Well, if you believe you can defeat me then try."

Mist, thicker than before, I could barely see anything. I listened. 'Now.' I dodged the sword and did a few back flips for distance. I quickly did some handsigns and watched the mist be replaced by darkness. 'Engulfing the world in darkness jutsu.' A chuckle.

"So you've made a new technique? Interesting, but it won't help you."

I focused my thoughts and finally opened my eyes. I could see in the dark, perfect. I ran at him, did a front flip over him, and stabbed him with a kunai. 'Waterclone, where's the other?' I dodged again, the sword inches from my face. I made handsigns, tons of handsigns. 'Dark Death-'

_BAM_

I rolled across the ground, my darkness fading from the world since I wasn't focusing. I hadn't had enough time to perfect this jutsu, I was screwed. I held my hands over my eyes, my eyes stinging.

"Did you think I had forgotten how to stop your dark jutsus?" he asked amused.

'Crap, this isn't good.' He knew, I'd thought he'd forgotten but he hadn't. My people could not create darkness, we could only manipulate it. That's why we had to close our eyes to make our dark jutsu's; it was the only darkness available in the day time. I held my eyes, listening for him. I was in trouble, blinded for now; this wasn't good. 'There.' I dodged and did backhand spring with one hand. 'Crap.' I felt someone grab me, and Naruto said

"Stay right here, you can't see. We'll take this jerk down, believe it!"

I plopped on the ground and held my eyes, they stung big time. 'Did he actually punch my eyes, or did he throw something and pretend to punch?' I didn't know anything but they hurt. A few minutes passed, I had no clue what was going on. Then all the noise stopped. 'Did they _actually_ manage to defeat Zabuza?' I heard a boy say a few things, but they were all running together. I was so dizzy, I couldn't understand anything; it was mainly because of my eyes. If I'd been more careful this wouldn't have happened.

"Kakashi-sensei are you alright?" Sakura asked worried. Not hearing an answer from Kakashi, Sasuke said

"He's passed out, we have to make the rest of the journey on our own." I nodded still holding my eyes and carefully stood up.

"Are you alright Sada-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Just blinded for now, it should wear off soon enough." I whispered.

"Sakura, help Sada walk." Sasuke ordered. "Naruto and I will help Kakashi."

"Ok Sasuke." Sakura said. She grabbed my arm and said "Follow us Tazuna-san, we'll get you there safely."

"Alright." Tazuna said. We walked, and nothing was said for the longest time. I had no clue where we were, but Sakura continued to lead me like Sasuke had told her. "We're here." Tazuna said. 'Great, we made it through. Now we just have to make sure the bridge is built, and we can leave.' "This is my house, get some rest kids." We nodded, and a woman said

"I'll show you all to your rooms. This is the boy's room, your sensei's room is next door, and the girls are right across the hall."

"Arigato." Sakura said. She led me into a room and said "Sit down here." I nodded and sat as instructed. "It's a bed, get some sleep. You really need it." I nodded and laid back on the bed. I finally lost consciousness.

**Author's Note: So...yeah. There you go, I didn't have to do too much rewriting on this story so I was pretty happy about that. A little more description, nothing big. Oh, and I'm gonna rename the story...I don't know to what, but something...I need a little more time to think on it. **

_PREVIEW:CHAPTER EIGHT_

_I nodded and walked through the forest thinking. 'I wonder if that Onin was really what he said he was. Zabuza has tons of supporters, one of them could have been pretending to be an Onin to save his life.' I sighed quietly and looked up from the ground. 'Why do I have to feel so alone all the time?' I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes. 'Nande?'_

"It's been a long time Sada-chan." I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes and stared at the boy standing infront of me.

"I haven't seen you in years." I said in a soft tone. He smiled, and without thinking, I hugged him.

"I've missed you." Haku whispered, holding me close to him.


	9. Chapter Eight: Tenderness

I groaned tiredly, not wanting to wake up just yet, but remembered my mission. I thought for a moment, remembering that Zabuza had blinded me, and opened my eyes expecting to see darkness. Instead I could actually see, I was pretty lucky that I hadn't went completely blind from him hitting my eyes like that. No one was in the room, apparently Sakura had already woke up. 'What time is it?' I looked over at the clock and gasped seeing it was 11:30. 'Oh crap! I've got to hurry. I bet they're so angry with me for sleeping in so late. What if something would've happened, I wouldn't have been there to help them all because I was sleeping. Curse me and not paying attention when Zabuza hit me, I wouldn't have slept so late had it been for him.' I was about to get out of bed when I heard the door open. I looked up from the sheets to find Sasuke standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you're already awake." he said, looking surprised. I nodded and flicked my eyes down to the sheets. "Kakashi said we're going to be learning something new today, so hurry and get ready." I nodded again, looking up, and he turned to walk out the door.

"Sasuke matte." He turned back towards me, partly shocked that I had sounded so commanding, and I looked down embarrassed. "Ano…what happened with Zabuza?" It was quiet for a minute before he finally said

"After you were blinded, Naruto and I worked together to free Kakashi. Then Kakashi took over and was about to kill Zabuza when an Onin showed up and killed Zabuza himself. He took his body with him, saying something about how it had secrets of their village." Sasuke told me. I nodded and heard his footsteps across the floor. I looked up from the covers and saw him standing right beside my bed. "How are your eyes?" he asked, I could hear the hidden concern in his voice.

It seemed like the wall he'd built up around everyone else, was slowly coming down when he was around me. This aura we had around each other, it felt like we were able to get each other to open up without saying anything about it. I knew we were both holding as much back as we could, trying to get to know each other without telling our life stories. Just by the look in Sasuke's eyes, I could tell he was struggling with his emotions exactly the same way I was. I had a feeling that eventually, I might be able to fully trust him.

"Better." I replied, playing with a strand of my hair.

"Can you actually see?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. I nodded in reply, and he held up four fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four." I answered easily. He nodded, the concern in his eyes fading away, and I stared at him. "Why are you..." I stopped. I didn't want him to get angry with me, especially since it felt like we could be rather good friends.

"Why am I what?" he asked emotionlessly. I shook my head and looked down.

"Never mind." I whispered.

"Sada, tell me." he asked of me. I looked up at him but made sure to avoid his eyes.

"Why do you seem like...you're worried about me?" I asked. He didn't answer, and I looked up into his eyes. They held shock, most likely from him not realizing I could see through his eyes, as well as concern. He walked out of the room saying

"Hurry up and get ready."

I sighed to myself and quickly changed into a new outfit since this one had been completely destroyed by Zabuza. I walked out of the room and saw Tazuna standing in the kitchen with a young woman. He looked at me and said

"Your sensei, along with your team, is outside in the forest." I nodded for a thank you and walked out of the house, into the forest. I saw Kakashi talking with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, and he looked back at me.

"So happy you could join us Sada, how are you feeling?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Better and yourself?" I said.

"Not so well, but I'm getting there." I nodded and stood beside Naruto. "Now what we're doing to day is trying to focus our chakra and walk up the tree."

We all nodded, and I looked at the ground. 'I already know this. I remember when Zabuza taught me this. God, I fell on my butt so many times it wasn't even funny. Then Haku just _had_ to keep laughing at me…but he helped me figure it out. It took me days to do this, I wasn't very talented when it came to chakra control.' I sighed and listened to Kakashi lecture about it for a few minutes until he said

"Now try." I walked over to a tree and walked up it. Everyone seemed shocked, because they all tried a running start and failed to get as high as I did just walking. "Sada." I stood upside down on a tree branch and looked at Kakashi. "You've learned how to do this?" Kakashi asked. I nodded and dropped down from the branch. I landed on my feet and straightened up.

"May I go for a walk?" I asked, not finding any real reason to do something I'd already learned.

"Seeing as you already know this, sure. Don't go far though" Kakashi instructed.

I nodded and walked through the forest thinking. 'I wonder if that Onin was really what he said he was. Zabuza has tons of supporters, one of them could have been pretending to be an Onin to save his life.' I sighed quietly and looked up from the ground. 'Why do I have to feel so alone all the time?' I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes. 'Nande?'

"It's been a long time Sada-chan." I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes and stared at the boy standing infront of me.

"I haven't seen you in years." I said in a soft tone. He smiled, and without thinking, I hugged him.

"I've missed you." Haku whispered, holding me close to him. I looked at him and attempted to smile but failed. I must've _really_ forgotten how to smile. I sighed and nodded.

"It's been too long." I said quietly. Haku smiled, and we sat down in the grass together.

"How have you been?" Haku asked, his eyes finding mine. I shrugged, and he sighed. "Gomen." I looked at him confused, and he sighed again. "For everything that happened four years ago."

"That wasn't your fault." I whispered, recognizing that he still cared about me.

"I didn't try to save you though." Haku said, sounding ashamed with himself.

"Zabuza would've killed you if you tried." I said sadly. He didn't reply, and I stared at him; my best friend after all these years, we were finally together again. "Haku-kun...I know you didn't want to do it, you probably didn't even know about it. I don't hold you responsible for what happened to me." He looked into my eyes and finally nodded.

"You don't know how hard it's been without you." he said, moving his fingers through my hair.

"Demo…I do." I argued. "Everyday, not being with you hurt. It hurt so badly." I grabbed the crystal around my neck and looked at him. "This is the only thing that held me together." Haku smiled and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I sighed happily and leaned against him, burying my face in his chest.

"I never want to leave you again." Haku told me. I glanced up at him through my bangs, and he smiled softly. "Will you come with me?"

"Zabuza's still alive." I noted. Haku sighed quietly and nodded. "I can forgive you Haku-kun, but not him. He's the reason we were separated, and until he's dead, I can't stay with you." Haku sighed and I closed my eyes, listening to his heart beat and steady breathing.

"I wish you wouldn't feel that way." he said after a few minutes.

"Haku-kun, you're precious to me." I told him. "The one thing in this world I would die to protect, but Zabuza-"

"Is precious to me." Haku interrupted. "You are as well, but Zabuza-san saved me from death. He gave me a purpose in life, he needs me." I looked down and held my tears back. I couldn't believe he was choosing Zabuza over me, I _was _his best friend, he should be choosing me. "Once I met you though, I found someone else who was precious to me and gave me another reason for living. You needed me as well."

"And I still do." I whispered, wishing he would stay with me. Haku sighed and held me close.

"I never want to leave you again, but it seems we have different paths." he said sadly. I nodded sullenly and buried my face into his shoulder. "I'll make sure we stay together." he said after a minute.

"How?" I asked, not understanding what he was thinking.

"You'll see." he said with a sincere smile. I stared at him slightly confused, and he pulled me to my feet. "I have to leave now."

"No, you can't." I said, clinging onto him. "I won't let you. I need you to be with me." He smiled softly and hugged me to him.

"You'll see me again, very soon. I promise." he said kindly.

"What's he planning?" I asked curiously. "He's planning something." Haku shook his head and sighed.

"I can't tell you, but you'll see eventually." he said.

"Haku-kun, please stay with me." I pleaded. He looked into my eyes for the longest time, I don't know how long he was staring at me, but he finally looked away.

"You still have the want of needing to be loved." he informed me, with a sad tone. "After all these years since I last stared into your eyes, nothing seems to have changed."

"I need you." I said again. "Please, stay."

"I have to go now."

"No, please don't." I begged. He looked back down into my eyes for a moment and moved my hair away from my face.

"Maybe if you didn't try to hide yourself from the world, you wouldn't be as sad." he pondered. I shook my head and kept holding back the tears.

"I wouldn't be as sad if you stayed with me." I said quietly. He smiled again and looked down at me.

"Things will work out, we'll see each other very soon." I shook my head sadly and looked away, I didn't want him to see me cry. "Sada-chan, don't do this to me." Haku said sadly. "Please." I closed my eyes trying to keep the tears in, but I was so close to losing the battle with them. "Sada-chan look at me." I opened my eyes and looked back at Haku's face. He stared into my eyes and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. "Please, don't hate me."

"I don't hate you." I said honestly. "I never could hate you." He nodded and said

"Things will work out, trust me." He said it so convincingly that I had to believe him, I knew his voice how it changed at times, hearing him say that I knew he was serious. I nodded, and he smiled. "Sada-chan."

I stared at him, and he did something I didn't expect; he kissed me. I had never been kissed before, and what had shocked me was that my first kiss was given to me by my best friend, Haku. He was so gentle about it, as if I was fragile in some way. I didn't understand why he had even kissed me, but it was the most amazing feeling; I couldn't explain it. He pulled out of the kiss and stared at me.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked quietly.

"I-I don't know." he stuttered. I nodded and continued to stare at him. "I-I care about you a lot Sada."

"I feel the same about you." I whispered.

"I think I might...love you." he said softly. Haku, he...loved me?

"Haku." I whispered.

My voice so quiet, the quietist it'd been in my entire life. I didn't know what I felt towards Haku, did I love him, there was only one way to find out. I kissed him, it was unexplainable what I was feeling at this moment. Did I love him? Our lips moving together, it was the most gentle kiss. Amazing, just amazing. After we parted I stared at him again, I think I _did_ love him.

"Haku, don't leave me, please." I asked of him.

"I'll see you again, I swear." he promised, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"Demo you just said you loved me." I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears came falling down my face, and Haku shook his head sadly.

"Don't cry, please Sada-chan." he whispered holding me. "Please calm down." I nodded, and he kissed the top of my head. "Please Sada." He wiped my tears away and looked directly into my eyes. "After all this is over I swear I will stay with you until the end of time." I nodded, and he smiled. "I have to go now." I nodded sadly, and he lightly kissed my lips again before disappearing.

'Haku...I love you.'

**Author's Note: Eh, it's a little shorter than the other's but oh well. It was hard trying to rewrite this chapter...Haku/Sada is so cute...*sigh***

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER NINE_

Zabuza walked into sight, and Sakura gasped in surprise.

"I thought he was dead." she whispered quietly.

"No, that Onin was working with him." Kakashi pointed out as Haku came into view, standing next to Zabuza.

'No, Haku don't do this.' I looked down, hating that Haku was still planning on following Zabuza like he was. Before I even realized what had happened, Haku and Sasuke were fighting with each other. 'No.'

"Crystal Ice Mirrors." Haku said, making a handisgn.

'No, not this technique. It's impossible to escape alive, Sasuke will die. Haku please, you can't do this.'

"Don't even think about it Kakashi, you go after Haku, I go after Tazuna." Zabuza said threatingly.


	10. Chapter Nine: Encounter

I watched Sasuke and Naruto walk in from training all day and sighed to myself. 'Why do they always have to compete? It was just climbing up a tree, why be so competitive about that? It's not like it really matters.'

"We both made it to the top!" Naruto said, sounding happy with their accomplishment. Sasuke smirked proudly, and Sakura smiled at the both of them.

"Good job guys." she said, still smiling.

"You both should get some rest, I'll bring you dinner in a few minutes." Tsunami said sweetly. They both nodded and walked out of the kitchen to their bedroom. I sighed quietly and walked to my room a few minutes later. I thought and thought and thought about Haku all that night. When I wasn't thinking about him, I was dreaming about him. It was so complicated, how could we be together like he'd promised? Would he leave Zabuza just to be with me or what? I didn't understand. The next morning wasn't too special, it just seemed to be a regular day. We went with Tazuna to the bridge he was building and I looked around curiously, wondering why no one wanted to stay to build it.

"They've given up hope." Tazuna said, sounding glum. "Maybe I should too."

"No, the bridge must be built." Sakura said with a determined tone. "Think of your people." Tazuna nodded, seeing that she had a point, and mist slowly began forming around the area.

'No, he's back.' Zabuza walked into sight, and Sakura gasped in surprise.

"I thought he was dead." she whispered quietly.

"No, that Onin was working with him." Kakashi pointed out as Haku came into view, standing next to Zabuza.

'No, Haku don't do this.' I looked down, hating that Haku was still planning on following Zabuza like he was. Before I even realized what had happened, Haku and Sasuke were fighting with each other. 'No.'

"Crystal Ice Mirrors." Haku said, making a handisgn.

'No, not this technique. It's impossible to escape alive, Sasuke will die. Haku please, you can't do this.'

"Don't even think about it Kakashi, you go after Haku, I go after Tazuna." Zabuza said threatingly.

'This can't be happening, why does this have to be happening? Couldn't Zabuza have just given up on killing this Tazuna man? It's not like he's some threat to him. Damn Zabuza and his love for money. If anyone dies here…it'll be all my fault.' Time passed, I couldn't say how long, but it seemed like hours. Finally Kakashi and Zabuza started fighting, this was getting worse by the second.

_CRASH _

'That sounded like the ice mirrors. No, not Haku!' I looked around, concerned about Haku and Sasuke's lives, and finally ran in the direction I'd heard the mirrors shatter.

"Sada come back!" Sakura yelled, sounding terrified for my well being. I ignored her and continued running through the mist, trying to find Sasuke and Haku. 'Haku, please Haku. Don't be dead. Please don't have killed Sasuke.'

"Sada-chan." I turned around and to find Haku standing behind me. Where was Sasuke, was he alive? "What are you doing here?" he asked frightened. "You could get hurt."

"Haku-kun, I've made a decision." I told him, taking his hand. He nodded, looking like he didn't understand why I was stupid enough to come out here when all this fighting was going on, and said

"Now's not the time. There's a fight going on-"

"Haku I love you." I interrupted. His eyes widened in surprised, and I stared up into his eyes. "I love you so much, I want to come with you." He nodded and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I'll never leave your side." he whispered next to my ear. I wiped at my tears, smiling slightly, and looked up at him. He smiled softly and gently pressed his lips against mine.

"Now Zabuza you die!" Kakashi shouted from some distance away from us. Haku quickly broke the kiss and looked at me sadly.

"Don't." I begged, knowing what he was thinking. He shook his head and said with an urgent tone

"I love you Sada."

"Don't!" I pleaded.

He ran, why, why couldn't he listen to me? I ran in the direction Haku had ran, I didn't want to lose him; he was the only thing I had. The only thing precious to me, I had to protect him at all costs. I couldn't survive without him. I stopped seeing Kakashi's arm go through Haku, he was...dying.

"No!" I screamed.

Right when Zabuza got out his sword, I ran right at them and pulled Haku's body away from them before he had the chance to swing it at Kakashi. Dropping to my knees I held him, I held him close to me.

"Don't die Haku." I whispered sadly.

"I'm sorry Sada-chan." he whispered, staring up into my eyes. Clashes, they were fighting. I didn't care either, I wasn't going to pay attention to anything but Haku.

"No, you won't die. You can't die." I said softly. "You're everything to me."

"You won't be alone, I'll make sure you find someone." Haku promised. "I wasn't meant to live."

"Hai you were, you're not going to die." I choked, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I am though." Haku said, coughing up blood.

"No, don't leave me." I pleaded.

"Sada, I love you." Haku said softly. He touched my face and smiled sadly. I felt more tears roll down my cheeks and kissed his forehead lovingly.

"I love you too Haku." I whispered, tears cascading down my face.

I looked down into his beautiful brown eyes one more time, as his hand fell from my face his eyes lost all life. I felt my lower lip trembling and I coughed, trying to hold in the rest of my tears. I looked up hearing no more clashing, and Kakashi walked over to me, carrying Zabuza.

"He wanted to say goodbye." Kakashi told me. I nodded sadly and held Haku closer to me.

'Haku…nande?'

"I'm sorry Haku." Zabuza said, looking towards me and Haku's body. "You're going to a place that I'm not going." I looked at my old master, and he stared at me. "He always talked about going after you Sada, he really cared about you." I nodded and stared down into Haku's dead eyes.

"I know." I said quietly. I reached up and gently closed his eyes.

"He was a pure soul." Zabuza stated. "Never selfish, always caring and protecting those precious to him." I nodded and wiped at my tears. "Be happy for him Sada, he would want you to be happy."

I nodded, and stared at Haku's face for a moment before I managed to look at Zabuza. His face, all the life in it, was gone. A few minutes passed in silence as everyone scurried around the bridge, trying to find out everyone's condition. Sasuke wasn't dead but alive, Haku never had been the type of person that wanted to kill anyone. He usually avoided it at all costs, that's what kind of person he was. Naruto was alright as well, he just need a little treatment. Sakura was ok too, but then again, she hadn't done a single thing during this entire mission. Kakashi seemed alright besides a cut on his chest, and Tazuna had been protected.

"We'll have a funeral for them." Kakashi said. I nodded sullenly and looked at him.

"Arigato." I said quietly. He nodded, and I looked up towards the sky.

'Haku, rest in peace. I'll always love you.'_ONE WEEK LATER, THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE LEAVES_

Well, after the bridge was built we traveled back to the Leaf Village, I was doing horrible. Not my physical strength, but my emotional strength. Haku was dead, I'd lost the only person in my life that was precious to me. I didn't know what I could live for anymore, I'd kept myself alive for all those years in the hopes that we'd meet again. Now, I didn't see what the point in life was, I didn't have Haku with me anymore. I wanted to die, so many times after we left the Land of Waves. I'd thought of so many different ways to kill myself it wasn't even funny, I really didn't even feel like I was alive anymore. I felt so empty, so emotionless, so cold. I blinked, snapping myself out of my thoughts, and looked over at my arguing team for a moment before walking away from them. Kakashi had said he had tons of paperwork to do about our mission in the Land of Waves so we didn't have practice today, I was going back to my apartment and staying there. I turned the corner and felt someone come up behind me; Sasuke of course.

"Sada, I have to talk to you." he said, sounding serious.

"What about?" I asked sadly. He stared at me and looked around the area we were standing in. I looked to the left, then the right; there was no one here so why was he looking around? "Why'd you do that?" I asked confused.

"Making sure no one would be able to hear our conversation." he replied.

"Is it that serious?" I asked, slightly confused at what he wanted to talk about.

He nodded, and I rubbed my arm with a sigh. I didn't want to answer any questions right now, especially Sasuke's questions. They were all so deep, or they were personal things. Why did he have to seem so understanding? I knew that he was a type of person I'd be able to be friends with, but I didn't want to have a friend right now. At least that's what my brain told me, my heart and emotions were screaming out for comfort. They wanted a friend…and part of my brain did as well.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, staring into my eyes. I looked at him, trying to seem confused, and he frowned. "You seem like you've gotten worse since the mission in the Land of Waves."

'Why does he have to be so observant? He's going to make a great shinobi when he's older with observation skills like that, no doubt about it.'

"I'm fine." I lied, rubbing my arm again.

"You're lying to me." Sasuke stated. I didn't say anything, he was right. "I don't want you to lie to me." I looked up at him, wishing that I hadn't lied to him, and he stared at me. "I don't want you to feel like you have to lie to me." I stared at him curiously, and he carefully moved his hand towards my faced, touching my cheek. This was something I hadn't expected, and I flinched slightly at the contact. "I want you to be able to trust me." I looked down and tried to gather my thoughts. I knew that I wanted to trust him, so maybe now was the time to let the wall down a little.

"I'm hurting." I whispered.

"Over what?" he asked, sounding concerned. I continued staring at the ground and said quietly

"He's dead." I moved my eyes away from the ground, up at him, and saw something flash through his eyes. I couldn't tell what it was because it was gone before I knew it.

"Are you talking about those rogue shinobi?" he asked, sounding emotionless.

"Haku." I whispered, clutching the crystal around my neck. "My...best friend. The only person that I cared so much about that I would die to protect, the only person who cared about me just as much, the only person that understood who I am. It hurts...so badly." I looked down, feeling my eyes stinging, and tried to hold back the upcoming tears. I felt my throat going dry and I coughed, a few stray tears ran down my cheeks.

"You feel guilty." he stated. "You think you could have saved him." I nodded and continued to stare at the ground. Sasuke sighed and hooked a finger under my chin, making me look at him. "Sada, it's alright." he said, thumbing away my tears. I stared into his eyes and could see the sympathy in them he normally hid from everyone else. "You can trust me." I nodded, realizing that he was letting down his wall a little as well, and looked down again.

"Arigato Sasuke." I whispered, coughing a little. He lifted my chin again, staring back into my eyes, and nodded.

"I'll always be here when you need me." he promised.

He wiped away the rest of my tears and moved his hand away from my face. It seemed like Sasuke wasn't the type of person that liked having too much skin contact with people, but he realized that it helped people feel a little better. I thanked him for that because I actually did feel my heart lighten a bit from him caring so much. I stared up at him, and he did something I didn't expect; he smiled. What was more surprising than him smiling was the fact that I actually felt my cheeks heating up. 'No way, I'm not blushing. There's no way.' I looked at him again, trying to hide my blush, and finally said

"I'll see you later, I need to do some thinking." He nodded, the smile fading from his face. He didn't seem like the type of person to smile too much, but I liked his smile; it made me feel a little better about everything going on.

"If you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to ask." he told me.

I nodded and started walking around the village. 'What in the world is going through his head half the time, and more importantly, what's going through my head? What's wrong with me? Why am I acting so different? How could he have made me blush like that?' I touched my cheek, blushing harder feeling that it was still warm from earlier. 'How did he do that?' I walked and walked, trying to clear my thoughts, and ended up walking into an alley way. 'Arguing?' I looked up from the dirt and saw a group of people standing up ahead. Two of them were Naruto and Sakura, three of them were little kids that looked like they were from the Academy, and the other two were shinobi that weren't from this village. From the look of their headbands, they were shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Sand. The guy that looked like he was trying to act like a badass was wearing all black and had some purple markings on his face, the girl beside him had blonde hair pulled up into four pigtails and was wearing a white summer kimono type of outfit. The guy was threatening the brown haired kid that had some scarf on, and Naruto was yelling at him to back off; well at least it used to be happening. As soon as they had heard my footsteps, they all immediately turned their attention to me. The guy in black immediately dropped the kid and started towards me. 'Oh crap, why me?' I backed up into the wooden fence, and he put his hand beside my head, not attempting to let me go anywhere. He stared at me for a few seconds and finally smirked.

"Hey cutie, the name's Kankuro. You wanna go out somewhere?" he asked me.

'Well he certainly gets straight to the point, why's he hitting on me?'

"Hey back off!" Naruto yelled angrily. "Leave Sada-chan alone."

"Sada huh?" he asked, ignoring Naruto's other comments "Cute name, means pure doesn't it?" I nodded, still staring at him blankly, and the blonde girl said

"Just leave her alone, what if he shows up?"

"He's not going to find out anything Temari." Kankuro stated, rolling his eyes. "Just let me have a little fun." She rolled her eyes to herself, not looking like she believed him, and he looked back at me smirking. "So what do ya' say? Wanna go somewhere, just you and me?" I stared at him blankly again, and opened my mouth to say something but closed it, not knowing what to say. He smirked again and moved his hand to touch my face.

_CLING  
_

A small rock hit his hand with enough force to actually break it, and he backed up from me in shock.

"Itai, what the hell?" he said, rubbing his hand. I ran over behind Naruto, not liking that the Kankuro guy had tried touching me, and he looked back at me.

"You ok?" he asked, with a worrying tone. I nodded, looking over Naruto's shoulder at Kankuro, and heard him say

"Who threw that?"

"I did."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed, sounding all impressed.

"Oh great." Naruto muttered, not liking that Sasuke had showed up.

"Why can't you be that cool boss?" the brown haired kid asked Naruto, looking disappointed.

"Hey what are you talking about, I could have saved you in two seconds flat." Naruto exaggerated.

"You're going to use Karasu for this?" Temari asked with a shocked tone. I looked over to see Kankuro had pulled the coffin like thing off his back.

"I hate punks." Kankuro mumbled.

"Kankuro, you're a disgrace to our village." a cold voice said.

I looked over towards the tree that Sasuke was sitting on and saw a red head standing upside down on a tree. He had sea green eyes, and the kanji for love tattooed on his forehead. I stared into his eyes, mentally gasping to myself in sadness. I could see a look in his eyes, a look that both Sasuke and I had, loneliness. A look of betrayal and sadness, desperation, hatred…anger. His eyes told me how angry he was at the world, how he felt unloved, not wanted…he was the same as me in that aspect. I wanted to know more about this redhead, and why his eyes screamed his loneliness. Maybe…he was someone else I could trust. He also had the Sand Village headband like Temari and Kankuro, I was guessing they were on the same team.

"These punks started it Gaara." Kankuro raged.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara growled. Kankuro shut his mouth and Gaara disappeared from the tree, reappearing infront of Kankuro and Temari. "Excuse him." We nodded, and Gaara glared at Kankuro. Sasuke jumped down from the tree beside me and stood by my side protectively. They all turned and faced us, looking at Sakura.

"There is an alliance between our villages, according to the treaty you have to have passes and permission to enter the village." Sakura said. "State your business."

"We have passes." Temari said, pulling hers out. "We are shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Sand, and we have permission to be here."

"For what purpose?" Sakura pried, she sure was nosy.

"They're here for the Chunin exams." Sasuke stated.

"What's that?" Naruto asked. The brown haired kid explained them to Naruto, and he got really excited when he found out about being able to go up a rank. "Why didn't sensei tell us?"

"He did, you just weren't paying attention." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. Sakura giggled, and I stared at the ground.

'Chunin exams huh? This is a good opportunity for me. I know I trained with Zabuza for years of my life, but I never had been assigned a rank until I got here. I guess this would be the right time to show off my skills…except my kekkei genkai.'

"So Sada?" I looked over Naruto's shoulder at Kankuro, and he smirked. "You never answered my question, dinner?" I opened my mouth again to say something, knowing exactly what I was going to say, and felt an arm go around my waist. I looked over at Sasuke, and he glared at Kankuro.

"Back off." he said coldly. Kankuro glared at him, and I looked at Sasuke confused.

'Wait a second…what's going on here?' Sakura looked like she was going to burst into tears, Naruto glared at Sasuke, and Sasuke just smirked. "Go near her, and I'll make sure I break every bone in your body." Kankuro deepened his glare, and Gaara said

"What's your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said, still smirking. "I'm also interested in yours."

"Sabuka no Gaara." Sasuke nodded, and the three sand ninja walked away.

'I wonder how later is going to turn out…everyone seems like they're pretty angry with each other.'

"Nani Sasuke!" Naruto yelled angrily. "What was that about?"

'And it begins.'

**Author's Note: *sigh* Poor Naruto, he's so left out of the loop. And Sasuke getting all protective...hmmmm, wonder what's going on in that little head of his. Goodness, re-writing this story is becoming quite the challenge. Oh, and I hope you like the new title. =]**

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER TEN_

_"The failure of a mission, the death of a soldier...that's all the captain's responsibility." a boy said._

_'Transformation jutsu.'_

_"We're just thinning out those who will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?" the other asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes, walking over towards the boys. We followed behind him without question, and he said_

_"You'll let me pass through and also remove this genjutsu created surrounding." I stared at the floor, and Sasuke continued. "Sakura you must have noticed it first right? Your analytical ability and genjutsu know how are the most improved on our team."_

_"Of course, I already noticed it." Sakura stated. "Because this is the second floor."_

_"Yup." Naruto agreed._

_"Heh, not bad." one of them said. "But all you did was see through it."_


	11. Chapter Ten: Assurance

I sighed and sat on the ground outside. It was night time at the moment, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I'd had a dream about Haku, a dream about his death. I hadn't been able to stop it from happening, I'd been trapped with no way to get to him. I'd watched right before my eyes as he was tortured and beaten until he'd finally died. I'd thought the first time seeing him die had been awful, but the second time seemed so much worse. I'd woken up in tears, crying and coughing, trying to calm myself down. I had decided to take a walk to try to clear my head. I didn't really have any real destination, I'd just started walking, and now I just couldn't make myself walk any further for a good couple of reasons. One was that I was just too tired to keep walking, I'd been walking for hours I guessed. And the other was that I was so upset, I could barely think straight. After everything that had happened in the past week, I didn't know if I was ready for the Chunin exams. Haku had been killed, Naruto didn't know what was going on around him, Sakura hated me with an undying passion, some guy I didn't even know ended up hitting on me, and Sasuke started acting all protective; what was going on here? I looked up at the sky and sighed sadly. 'Why Haku? Why'd you leave me like this? Why'd you leave me all alone? I thought you loved me?'

"Sada."

'Sasuke's voice. What's he doing out so late?'

"Hai?" I asked softly, looking over at him. He stared down at me for a few seconds and finally sat beside me.

"What are you doing our here?" he asked, moving one of his knees to his chest. "It's late."

"Thinking a little." I whispered to myself.

He nodded like he understood, and I looked at him. After the month or so that we'd been a team, it seemed like we were alot closer. We didn't really know anything personal about each other, but I felt like I understood his emotions. I also felt like he understood mine, and even though I didn't like talking about my parents wanting me dead, I knew I _had_ to talk about it. If I didn't, it would eat me up inside. I knew that if I could tell anyone, than it was probably Sasuke. I was ready to let him know something about me, my reason for being here. It would open another door for us to become friends…I _needed _a friend.

"They hated me." I told him, moving my eyes to him. He looked over at me, and I looked down on impulse. "My parents I mean. They never really liked me all that well, they're the reason I'm here now."

"They sent you away?" Sasuke asked confused. I shook my head and sighed to myself, mentally preparing myself.

"They were going to have me killed." I whispered sadly. I looked up at him, and he stared at me confused.

"Nande?" he asked quietly. I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest.

"They just wanted to." I said softly, choking on my words.

I felt my throat go dry, my eyes stinging a little, water forming around my eyes; I blinked. Tears slowly began rolling down my cheeks and I put my head on my knees, crying softly to myself. I hated admitting that they didn't love me, but now had been the time to say it. Now…I was an emotional wreck. I felt Sasuke scoot closer and his arm wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me to lean against him. I moved into his embrace willingly, happy to have some physical contact with someone, and moved my face into his shoulder, still crying softly.

"It's alright." he said quietly.

He moved one of his hands up, gently stroking my hair. This was different for me, and it seemed especially different for Sasuke. I had a feeling he hadn't comforted someone like this in a long time, and that didn't surprise me. He'd put a wall up between himself and everyone else, he hadn't _wanted _to get emotionally close to anyone. He was worried that if he cared about someone, he'd get hurt, but I could tell that he cared about _me_. He wanted to care about me, he wanted to be able to trust me, and he wanted to be my friend. He held me for a long while, gently stroking my hair, until I finally managed to calm myself down. My breathing had slowed, and I felt much better to have someone here with me that cared about me.

"Is that the reason you left?" he asked, trying not to upset me. I didn't say anything for a moment but forced myself to nod.

"I never wanted to say it, that they didn't love me, but it's true...they didn't ever. They still don't care about me." I said quietly. Sasuke sighed quietly and kept his arms tightly around my petite body.

"It's all going to be fine." he promised. "I won't let anything happen to you, I swear." I looked up at him through my bangs, and he smiled one of those rare smiles. "I'll always protect you."

I nodded, feeling his thumb wipe away the last of my tears, and moved my face back into his shirt. I closed my eyes tiredly, mentally thanking him for being here for me to talk to. I didn't know if I would've showed up at the Chunin Exams if I hadn't talked to him. 'All I needed was a good friend to help me through this. I'm lucky to know Sasuke.'

_THE NEXT DAY  
_

The next day was the first part of Chunin Exams, I was slightly nervous but being nervous was a good thing at times. I was happy I'd talked to Sasuke earlier because I was emotionally ready to deal with these exams. I felt a little stronger for the first time in a while. I made sure to get to the Exam building early and waited for my team to arrive. After a little while Sasuke showed up, Sakura came a few minutes later, and then Naruto finally showed up. We walked through the building, up a flight of stairs, and looked around the hallway. 'It's a genjutsu, this is really the second floor, not the third. What's up with these guys?'

"The failure of a mission, the death of a soldier...that's all the captain's responsibility." a boy said.

'Transformation jutsu.'

"We're just thinning out those who will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?" the other asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes, walking over towards the boys. We followed behind him without question, and he said

"You'll let me pass through and also remove this genjutsu created surrounding." I stared at the floor, and Sasuke continued. "Sakura you must have noticed it first right? Your analytical ability and genjutsu know how are the most improved on our team."

"Of course, I already noticed it." Sakura stated. "Because this is the second floor."

"Yup." Naruto agreed.

"Heh, not bad." one of them said. "But all you did was see through it."

He and Sasuke were about to fight when a boy came up, stopping both their kicks. I looked at him curiously seeing the green jumpsuit and his weird haircut. 'Ok…I'm officially disturbed.' A boy and a girl walked over, looking at him. I looked over at the boy and stared at him curiously. He had long brown hair and very pale color set of eyes. I couldn't tell what color they were, maybe lavender…white? Yeah, they were white. The girl had brown hair tied up into buns and a set of brown eyes. She was wearing pink, I _hated_ pink.

"Hey what happened to our plan?" the boy asked. "You're the one that said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves."

"Well..." the other boy started, looking at Sakura.

"Oh no." the girl muttered. The boy walked over to Sakura and said

"My name is Rock Lee, so your's is Sakura." Sakura had a confused look on her face, and Lee smiled. "Let's go out together. I'll protect you until I die." I looked up and stared at Lee confused.

'Ok, he must really like Sakura...weird.' Sakura stared at him disgusted and said

"No...way..." I looked at Lee's sad face, and Sakura said "You're lame." Naruto laughed, and I heard the other boy say

"Hey you..." I looked over at him, and he was staring at Sasuke. "What's your name?"

"When you want to learn someone's name you should give yours first." Sasuke said.

"You're a rookie right?" the boy inquired. "How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer you." Sasuke said bluntly.

"Nani?" asked the boy angrily. The girl giggled, and Lee mumbled

"Lame."

"What about me?" asked Naruto, his head bent low.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sada, let's go." Sakura said. We nodded and walked passed Lee's team, heading to the third floor.

After a while, we had finally made it to the third floor of the building, and we had just stepped inside the room. We 'rookies' as everyone called us, were having the hardest time imaginable. After we had left the second floor, Lee had followed us and challenged Sasuke to a battle. After a few minutes it was interrupted by his sensei, and we made it to the doors. Kakashi went into all these fabulous details saying how if the entire team hadn't came, we couldn't have gone in. All of this was just really weird, Kakashi could be such a confusing sensei at times. Once we had stepped inside though, we got stared at, tons of people were staring. The entire room was filled to the brink, and there were all sorts of age groups here, along with tons of different villages. As soon as we were noticed, glaring, and tons of it.

"Wow, there's...so many of them." Sakura said quietly. Sasuke nodded in agreement, and Naruto stared around the room.

"Wow." he mumbled. I looked around Sasuke and stared at all the people for a moment before looking back down.

'I can't do this.'

"Sasuke-kun!" a girl sang.

I moved behind Naruto when a blonde girl came up, hugging Sasuke. She was wearing what looked like a purple summer kimono, bandages wrapped around parts of her legs, and her hair was tied up into a high ponytail.

"Hey back off Ino, he's mine." Sakura screeched.

"Yeah right, in your dreams billboard brow." the girl named Ino said. "Oh Sasuke-kun, it's been so long since I've seen you. I've missed your good looks."

"Oh great you guys are here too." a boy said, walking up with another boy eating chips.

I looked at the boy that had spoken, he had black spiky hair tied up in a high ponytail and looked rather bored. He was wearing a fishnet shirt, a jacket over it, and a pair of black shorts that fell to his ankles. The other boy had some type of hat on his head, covering most of his orangish hair. He had on a tan looking t-shirt, a green jacket over it, a white scarf, and a pair of brown shorts. He was eating the bag of chips like he was starving.

"Shikamaru, Choji!" Naruto said shocked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"For the exams." the black haired boy, who was obviously Shikamaru, said "It's such a drag."

"So you all are here as well." another boy said.

I looked to see a boy with a dog on his head walk up, followed by another guy, and a shy looking girl. I stared at the boy with the dog, he was wearing a grayish like coat the hood pulled over his head, and charcoal colored pants. He had red markings on his face and dog like eyes. The other dude was wearing a white coat the had a _very_ high collar, brown pants and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. He had what looked like dark brown hair. The girl with them had dark blue hair, and white eyes. She was wearing a tan colored coat and navy blue pants. She resembled the brown haired guy from before, the one on Lee's team.

"Woah Kiba, you're here too?" Naruto almost shouted.

"Yeah, and me, Hinata, and Shino are going to win this thing." Kiba said. "Right Akamaru?" He looked up at the puppy, and it yipped happily.

"It's just like school." Shikamaru muttered. "All nine rookies back together again."

"Not nine." Naruto pointed out.

"Naruto did you forget how to count as well?" Ino asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, we have a four man squad." Naruto stated.

"Who?" Kiba asked curiously. "I'd like to see this new rookie." Everyone nodded, and Naruto took my arm pulling me infront of him.

'Great.'

"Guys this is Sada-chan." Naruto said, introducing me to everyone. I looked up at them all, and they stared at me. I looked down self-consciously and held my arms. I heard Akamaru yip a few times and heard a voice say

"Hi Sada, I'm Kiba." I looked up and stared at him curiously. His dog barked, and he smiled. "This is Akamaru." I nodded, I was a big animal lover. The puppy jumped down into my arms, and Kiba looked at him surprised. "Akamaru, don't."

"It's ok." I whispered, petting him. "He's a sweet dog." Kiba nodded and smirked.

"That's Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino." I nodded and stared at him again. Akamaru hopped back onto Kiba's head and yipped a couple of times. Kiba nodded and looked back at me. "Need any help in the exams, just ask okay? I'm here to help." I nodded, and Kiba turned his attention to Naruto. "You on the other hand, won't last a minute."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto yelled. "Listen up, all of you! My name's Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to beat every single one of you. BELIEVE IT!"

'Well everyone already hates us.'

"Naruto." Sakura hissed, putting him in a headlock. "Sorry about him everyone, he forgot to take his medicine this morning. Are you trying to make everyone hate us?"

"Well-" I sighed, slightly annoyed with Naruto's outburst, and looked at Sasuke.

"Loser." he muttered. I looked down and heard footsteps come up.

"You might not want to go shouting things like that." the guy said. I looked at him like I had been everyone else, he had silver hair and was wearing glasses. He was also dressed in a purple outfit…it was slightly weird. Almost as bad as Lee's jumpsuit.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked with a confused tone.

"Yakushi Kabuto." he said. "I know everything about this exam, and all the opponents."

"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked, slightly shocked.

"Yep. Me and my team of four tried this exam before, and it's not easy. Over the past couple of years I've gathered information on it." Kabuto said. We stared at him and watched him give Sasuke information on Sabuka no Gaara and Rock Lee. "The sound village are new opponents." he said. "Only three from the sound village this year, but they don't seem like much of a threat."

Suddenly the sound ninja came and attacked Kabuto. 'Woah, these guys aren't messing around.' They began talking about how the sound would kick everyone's ass and blah blah blah. Their chakra was pretty big though, we'd definitely have to watch ourselves. I looked up hearing a voice say

"Alright, my name is Ibiki, and I'm your first examiner. And from this point on…your worst nightmare."

After all the introductions had been taken care of, we all were assigned a seat. I was no where near any of my team so I had no one to help me on this part of the exams; I was on my own. I looked around the room, staring at everyone, and finally looked over at Sasuke. He nodded at me from across the room, and I nodded back. I looked back at Sakura for a moment and finally at Naruto. I was sitting in between some ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain and Gaara. It wasn't going to be very fun for me if either of them got mad.

"Alright, for this part of the Chunin exams you will be taking a written exam." Ibiki said.

'This shouldn't be too hard.' I nodded, still staring at the desk, and looked up. 'Dang it, Naruto's in trouble. He's not very good when it comes to stuff like this…or so I heard from Sakura. I have to get a high score if the teams going to pass.'

"The rules are there are 10 questions, one point for each. If you get caught cheating two points are taken from your final score. Caught cheating five times, you're out. If one of you get a zero on the exam, your whole team fails." he continued.

'Woah, this is intense.'

"I will give out the final question fifteen minutes until the end of the exam. BEGIN!" I sighed to myself and flipped my test over.

'Let's see, what's this one? Hmmm, it isn't too difficult.' I nodded to myself and within thirty minutes, I had made it half way through the test. Now the questions were getting harder though. 'Come on, I just have four left.' I took a breath and thought. This wasn't working out. I needed more answers, but they were too hard. 'I have to cheat, that's the only option. If I get caught only two points go bye bye so I'm good.' I nodded to myself and looked up at the ceiling. 'What jutsu should I use? That one will work.' I looked down and saw someone going as fast as lightning answering these questions. 'Found the perfect person.' I brought my hand off the desk into my lap and did some handsigns.

'Dark Mind Invasion jutsu.' I closed my eyes and could see every answer this guy had written down on his paper. 'Perfect.' In a way my jutsu was a mind invasion, but in another way it wasn't. When I focused on someone it was if I could see through their eyes when mine were closed, but I hadn't really entered their mind. I looked down at my paper and copied the answers. 'Alright, now that that's done I can check my other answers. That's one's right, that one's right...yay all of them are right!' I opened my eyes and looked over at Gaara sitting beside me. He had already put the answers down and was staring off into space. The shinobi beside me was cheating...what was his number?

"Number 72 fail." a sentinel said"Hey I didn't cheat!" he yelled, standing up.

'Yeah you did, you couldn't even hide your technique.'

"Numbers 43, and 98 fail." another said.

'Wow, this is serious business apparently.'

"Number 63 fail, numbers 12 and 103 fail."

'Woah, this is...woah.' Many more numbers got called, and at least a fourth of the people failed; finally it was time for the final question.

"Now it's time for the tenth question." Ibiki said. "You may choose to either take or skip the tenth question."

"Wait a minute then what's the catch?" Sakura asked.

"If you decide to skip it you automatically fail the exams." Ibiki said. "But if you take it and get it wrong you can never take the Chunin exams again."

'Nani?'

"So, does anyone not want to take the chance?" Ibiki asked.

"I'm out." someone said.

"Yeah me too." another said.

"Same here."

Tons of people, probably another fourth left the room. I looked over at Sasuke, he didn't look like he was willing to give up so easily. I didn't bother looking at Sakura, she was too smart to just give up. I looked to Naruto and saw his hand start to raise. 'Nani?' He slammed it on the desk and said

"You know what? I'm not going to chicken out like all these people. You can't scare me away! If I don't get the tenth question right I'll still become Hokage. You can't stop me! I never give up-" I tuned him out for a few minutes and finally Ibiki smirked and said

"Congratulations you all pass."

'Huh?'

"Matte, where's the tenth question?" Sakura asked.

"There wasn't one." Ibiki said. He started explaining how us choosing to say was the final question, and I shook my head annoyed.

'Of course.'

"You all pass the first part of the Chunin exams." All of a sudden something came crashing through the window, and a big sign came out of no where it seemed like. A woman with purple hair stood there and said

"Heads up boys and girls this is no time to be celebrating."

'Huh?'

"I'll be your next proctor, Anko." she said. "Are you ready for the second test? Good then let's go. FOLLOW ME!" Everyone stared at her with a blank expression, and Ibiki said

"You're early....again." She pouted and sighed.

"How many did you let pass?" She shook her head and said "Oh well, by the time I'm done with them, more than half will be gone."

"N-nani?" Sakura stuttered.

"Huh, this is gonna' be fun." Anko said with a smirk. "I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me, dismissed."

'What the heck? Is it going to get that much harder?' I shook my head and stood up.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Sasuke asked. We nodded and walked out of the room.

'What's going to happen tomorrow?'

**Author's Note: Alright so there's chapter ten. Hoped you liked it, I didn't have to do too much re-writing so I was rather pleased with that.**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER ELEVEN_

_"Ok so what's the plan?" Sakura asked._

"Well I gotta' go to the bathroom first." Naruto said, moving around a bit. "I'll just be a minute."

_We sighed in annoyance, and Naruto ran off. At this moment we were inside what was called the Forest of Death. Anko had given us instructions, telling us that we had one week to get to the tower in the middle of the forest. We had been given an earth scroll, and our goal was to find a heaven scroll. We could not open the scrolls until we were at the tower, or we were disqualified from the exams. It seemed easy enough, but with all the things that were hiding in this forest, it was going to be alot harder than I wished it would be._


	12. Chapter Eleven: Protection

"Ok so what's the plan?" Sakura asked.

"Well I gotta' go to the bathroom first." Naruto said, moving around a bit. "I'll just be a minute."

We sighed in annoyance, and Naruto ran off. At this moment we were inside what was called the Forest of Death. Anko had given us instructions, telling us that we had one week to get to the tower in the middle of the forest. We had been given an earth scroll, and our goal was to find a heaven scroll. We could not open the scrolls until we were at the tower, or we were disqualified from the exams. It seemed easy enough, but with all the things that were hiding in this forest, it was going to be alot harder than I wished it would be.

"I'm back." I looked over and glared coldly.

'That's not Naruto, it's a transformation.' I looked over at Sasuke, and he nodded. Apparently he'd already noticed it as well.

_BAM_

Sasuke attacked the imposter Naruto and I ran into the trees, trying to find the real one. Sakura probably didn't have a clue what was going on, but oh well. That was her own fault for not paying attention to what was going on around her, she really needed to focus more if she was to become a better shinobi. She was too caught up on being obsessed with Sasuke to even bother _trying_ to improve her skills. I looked around the area and finally spotted Naruto wiggling around on the ground.

"There you are." I whispered, dropping to his side. I pulled off his gag and began untying the ropes around his wrists.

"That freak jumped me!" Naruto shouted angrily.

"Sasuke's taking care of him." I said quietly. "You should have expected it Naruto. This is a very important exam."

"I know." Naruto sighed. I finished untying him and helped him to his feet.

"Come on, let's get back to Sakura and Sasuke." He nodded, and we walked back to them. We all sat down, and I kept my eyes peeled for anything suspicious.

"We need a password." Sasuke said. "Something only the four of us will know."

"So what do you have in mind?" I asked curiously, looking back at him. He thought for a moment and finally said

"I've got it. The question will be 'When does a ninja strike?', and the answer will be..." Sasuke finished, and Sakura nodded.

"Got it." she said confidently. I nodded as well, and Naruto scratched the back of his head confused.

"Could you repeat that?" he asked.

"No Naruto, once, and that's it." Sasuke said with a sigh. "I'll take the scroll for now. Let's split up and meet back here in an hour." We nodded, and Naruto and Sakura went in opposite directions. I looked around for a moment and decided to go backwards from where Sasuke was heading. "Sada, before you go." I looked at him, and he smiled slightly. "I'm glad you passed."

"Arigato, I'm happy for you as well." I replied, recognizing how close we were becoming now. He nodded, and I stared at the serious expression on his face.

"Don't get hurt. Take care of yourself, and keep your guard up." he advised. I nodded in agreement and looked at the ground.

"I will." I promised. I looked back at him as he nodded, and he sighed quietly.

"Please just...be careful Sada." I looked at him for a second confused and nodded.

"Don't worry about me." I whispered. "I'll be fine, that's a promise." He nodded, believing me, and I jumped up into the trees.

'Why _does_ he have to worry about me?'

__

LATER

I'd been traveling for about ten minutes or so, and I had finally gotten tired of 'tree hopping' as I called it. I jumped onto the ground and ended up landing infront of a team. 'Kuso.' It was a three man squad from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. They didn't seem all that tough, their chakra wasn't impressive in the least. I stood up and backed away a couple of steps.

"Give us your scroll." one of them demanded.

I stared at him blankly and an idea popped in my head. 'If they tell me again and I run, that'll just make them chase after me because they think I have a scroll. Then after that happens, I can kick their asses and take their's...perfect! It'd be pretty stupid to fight some pointless battle if they have the same scroll as us.'

"What scroll do you have?" I asked, working towards an even more innocent voice than I normally had. They chuckled, and the one in the middle said

"Heaven." I stared at him, and he smirked. "Which one do you have?" I stared at him with a terrified look and finally ran in the opposite direction.

"She has an earth scroll!" one yelled.

"After her." another said.

'Perfect.' I ran and ran and ran for about thirty seconds until I came into a little clearing. I skid to a stop and faced them.

"Hand the scroll over." I stared at them with another blank expression and did some quick handsigns.

"Dark corners of the mind jutsu."

Well to explain this jutsu it's not as complicated as the name, mainly what happens when this jutsu takes place is you lose your sanity and lose all ability to reason. You can't distinguish between what is an illusion and what is reality. See not that hard to understand. Screaming, and yelling; that's what happened during alot of my jutsus. I sighed to myself and walked over to the one with the scroll. I picked it up and looked at it before pocketing it.

"Well, that was easy." I mumbled to myself. I sighed again and turned around hearing

"Woah! That was so hot!" Kankuro?

'Ok, creepy.'

"Kankuro shut up, we're about to have a fight!" Temari said, looking at the shinobi across the field.

I looked at Gaara seeing him give me a curious look and quickly ran back into the forest, not wanting to start another fight. 'Sweet, now we have both scrolls so we can go to the tower. Here I come guys, you better be ready.'

__

HOURS LATER

'I can't believe I got lost in this flipping forest.' I groaned loudly and jumped over a fallen branch. Yeah, I was lost. I'd been lost in this stupid forest for the past few hours, and this was no fun at all. Everything looked exactly the same. I groaned to myself and jumped up into the trees, trying to get a better look at the surrounding area. I sighed in frustration, hating that I'd managed to get myself lost, and looked around trying to find my team. 'What the...Sakura?' I shook my head confused and looked around. Sasuke and Naruto were both unconscious as well as...Lee, and Sakura was fighting some people...who were they? It finally clicked...sound shinobi. 'Dang it, I've got to help Sakura.' I shook my head and glared at them from where I was. 'I won't let anyone else die.' I did some handsigns and closed my eyes. 'Darkness barrier.' I opened my eyes and watched as a barrier went up between the sound shinobi and my team. 'Perfect.'

"What the hell just happened Dosu?" the black hair boy yelled.

"There's another one." Dosu stated. "Zaku, Kin keep your eyes open." They both nodded, and I jumped down from where I had been, landing a few yards from them in a crouched position.

"So you're the ones who used my team mate as a punching bag." I said coldly, straightening up.

"That's right." Kin said with a smirk. I glared at her, and Dosu said

"So what are you doing here with a pathetic team like this? Your abilities suggest you're from the Village Hidden in the Dark." I didn't understand how he knew that, not many people knew about my village. I wasn't going to question it though, it wasn't important right now.

"That's correct." I replied. "The reason I'm here though, is none of your business." Zaku laughed and smirked.

"She's fiesty. I've been wondering about that innocent act she's been giving all throughout the exams. Are you really as innocent as you seem?" he asked.

"Would you like to find out?" I asked coldly. His smirk widened, and he nodded.

"Go for it." he said amused.

"Sada be careful!" Sakura yelled from behind my barrier. "They're very powerful!"

I nodded and dodged an airwave that came at me. 'Three against one sounds like perfect odds to me.' I glared again and did some quick handsigns. 'Blinded in darkness jutsu.' I watched for a second, and Kin screamed.

"What's going on? I can't see anything!" she yelled.

"It's her jutsu." Dosu acknowledged.

"How do we counter it?" Zaku asked. "We're all trapped in the dark." I continued staring at them and said

"You can give up, and hand over your scroll."

"Never." Kin spat. I ran towards her and punched her in the face. She went flying into a tree and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Kin are you ok?" Dosu asked, looking around trying to find her.

"She will be if you give me your scroll." I said emotionlessly.

"Not happening." Zaku said, shooting another airwave in my direction. I dodged it and kicked him in the face.

"You're defenseless, why don't you just give up?" I asked, wondering why they were being so pigheaded.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered.

I looked over and saw Sasuke walk through my darkness barrier towards Zaku. I looked at him, wondering what was wrong with him. There were tons of marks going up the left side of his body. The marks were moving up his skin, black marks, like fire.

"You seem really proud of these arms of yours." Sasuke said, looking sadistic.

'He's not the same Sasuke…something's wrong with him.'

"You must be very attached to them." Sasuke said smirking.

"No, what are you doing?" Zaku shouted. "Aghhhhhhhhhh!" I flinched hearing his arms crack, and Sasuke looked over towards Dosu.

"Looks like you're the only one left." he said. Dosu looked around terrified, but he was still blinded by my jutsu.

"No, Sasuke-kun stop!" Sakura screamed, hugging him. "Please just stop." I watched for a second, and the marks retreated up his skin; what were they?

"You are powerful opponents, I give you this scroll, and you let us go." Dosu said, setting the scroll down. I nodded in agreement and deactivated my jutsu. He looked at me and went to collect his team mates. "We'll meet again." he said, walking away. I looked at Sasuke and Sakura and finally walked over to them.

"Are you guys alright?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Yeah, arigato for stepping in when you did." Sakura thanked me.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked confused. "I thought I said an hour."

"I got lost." I said, looking down.

"Oh." Sakura said. Shikamaru's team came out of the bushes, and Ino said

"Are you guys ok? We saw everything."

'Hmph, and you didn't even bother to help? Scaredy cats.'

"We're fine Ino." Sakura sighed. Ino nodded and went to check on Lee. Shikamaru and Choji went over to Naruto who was mumbling in his sleep.

"I'll take care of Lee." Tenten said, appearing out of no where.

"Uh ok." Ino said, slightly confused.

"Come on Lee, pull it together!" Tenten yelled, shaking him. I looked at them confused and finally looked down at the scroll in my hand.

"So we have one scroll." Sasuke said.

"No we have three." I said, confused with him.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, sounding even more confused. I pulled out the heaven scroll I had gotten earlier, and Sakura said "Oh, well that means two scrolls. Our other scroll was taken away from some freak that attacked us." I nodded and Naruto yelled

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan." He sat down beside us and said "What happened to your hair? It's gone."

"Oh that." she said, smiling a little. "I just...decided to change my look. I like it better long, but when I'm out here moving around, it gets in the way." Naruto nodded like her understood, and Ino said

"Hey Sakura come here, I want to help you fix your hair." Sakura nodded, and I watched them for a second before looking at Sasuke.

"You did good." he told me.

"Arigato, you too." I whispered. He smiled slightly and carefully put his arm around my shoulders, trying not to surprise me. I nodded, feeling happy to have some contact with him, and sighed to myself.

"When do you want to head towards the tower?" he asked.

"Whenever you think we should." I replied.

Sasuke seemed more like the leader of this squad than I did, he should be the one to decide things like this. I wouldn't have been a good leader in the first place, I was just too shy and quiet for that role. He nodded and said

"Sakura, Naruto." They both looked over in our direction, and Sasuke stood up. "We'll be heading to the tower in half an hour so be ready." They nodded, and I looked up at the sky.

'It's as if you're protecting me. Arigato Haku.'

**Author's Note: Yeah, not too much re-writing in this chapter. Hoped you liked it and all that other stuff.**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWELVE_

_"How about you give up?" I asked coldly. "That way you won't have to be beaten up by a girl." I hated when men thought they were so much more powerful than women, it pissed me off. Kiba laughed, and Akamaru yipped happily._

"That a girl Sada!" he yelled.

"You can do it!" Hinata said encouragingly.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

"DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lee screamed. I shook my head, slightly annoyed with them, and tuned out their voices. I stared at Shigure again, and he glared.

"Fine. I tried to give you a way out, but now you're going to pay." he said. I got into an elegant fighting stance and stared at him.

"Then go for it." I said; he did.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Shunned

'So this is it huh?' I stared around the room we were in and finally looked up at all the sensei's standing infront of us. There were a large amount of us that had passed, and according to the Hokage there had to be preliminary matches. All the teams that had passed were as follows; my team, Kiba's team, Gaara's team, Shikamaru's team, Neji's team, Kabuto's team, and Dosu's team. There were around twenty three of us, an uneven number since our team had four members as well as Kabuto's. What was going to happen with this? If there was an uneven number of people…how would the preliminaries work?

"Now then, who feels like they aren't up for the challenge?" the proctor asked.

"I'm out." Kabuto said, raising his hand a little.

'My mistake twenty two people.'

"Kabuto nande?" Naruto asked.

"Ah Naruto, ever since that battle with the sound shinobi I haven't been at my best. I've lost all hearing in one of my ears, and I'm just so weak. Gomen, but I can't keep going." Kabuto said, looking at all of us. "Good luck to all of you though." We nodded, and Kabuto walked out of he room.

"Anyone else?" the proctor asked.

No one's hands went up. I could hear Sakura arguing with Sasuke behind me, but I didn't look back at them. This was their disagreement, and I was staying out of it. I vaguely heard her say something about him needing to withdraw from the match, but I knew Sasuke wouldn't listen to her. That's just the kind of guy he was…determined and stubborn.

"Now then, what will happen is your names will be chosen randomly on the screen above." the Hokage said, motioning towards the screen. "You will fight until the proctor announces a winner, one of you surrender, or die." I swallowed hard and looked up at the screen.

'Please, don't let anyone die.' I looked up at the screen again, watching as it shuffled through names, waiting for a pair of names to appear. 'No.'

_Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi_

I looked over back Sasuke, and he smirked. 'No.'

"Everyone besides the first two opponents may wait, go up the stairs onto the balconies." the Hokage instructed.

I shook my head sadly and stared at the ground. Everyone started moving, and I finally forced myself to look at Sasuke. I didn't understand why, but I was so worried about Sasuke, I didn't want anything bad to happen to him. I was even worried he'd be killed…it was over dramatic to a point, but I couldn't help the way I was feeling. I had finally realized what Sasuke was to me, a best friend. He was what Haku used to be to me, and I was afraid of losing him.

"Please." He looked at me, and I looked back down. "Please be careful Sasuke." I whispered.

"I'll be fine." he said quietly. I nodded to myself and stared at him, straight in the eyes. "I promise." I sighed and nodded again, trying to force myself to believe him. He smiled slightly and said "Now go on, you don't want to be the last one up the stairs."

I sighed quietly and walked away from him, towards the stairs. 'Don't let yourself get killed.'

Sasuke had ended up winning his match but was taken away by Kakashi at the end of it. Something had been going on though the whole time he was battling. I could sense some type of change in his chakra, but I hadn't the faintest idea what it was. Now we were waiting for another set of name's to come up. 'I wonder who's next.'

(I'm not going to explain the battles if you could already guess. The only one I will explain is Sada's, that's it. Okay, now that that's out of the way, here's the list of battles and their outcomes.)

_Aburame Shino VS Abumi Zaku: Winner Aburame Shino_

_Kankuro VS Misumi Tsurugu: Winner Kankuro_

_Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino: Winner Tie_

_Temari VS TenTen: Winner Temari_

_Sada VS Yamichi Shigure: Winner ?_

_Nara Shikamaru VS Tsuchi Kin: Winner Nara Shikamaru_

_Uzamaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba: Winner Uzumaki Naruto_

_Hyuuga Neji VS Hyuuga Hinata: Winner Hyuuga Neji_

_Gaara VS Rock Lee: Winner Gaara_

_Kinuta Dosu VS Akimichi Choji: Winner Kinuta Dosu_

"Sada." Sakura whispered. I looked up from the floor and over at her, what did she want? She hadn't talked to me directly all throughout the exams…or for weeks for that matter.

"Nani?" I asked curiously.

"Your name." she said quietly. I looked over at the screen and stared at it.

_Sada VS Yamichi Shigure_

'No, why do I have to go next? I don't want to. What if I screw up and wind up showing them my kekkei genkai? It's not normal, and they'll think I'm a freak. I can't let them see it. I don't want to be hated an shunned anymore. I'm tired of people being afraid of what I can do…I don't want people to be afraid of me. I can't let anyone see my kekkei genkai.' I looked over at Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi and finally sighed.

"You can do it Sada-chan." Naruto said. "You'll win, BELIEVE IT!"

"Don't doubt yourself." Kakashi advised.

"I don't doubt myself." I whispered.

'I just doubt everything else.' I sighed, knowing I couldn't delay any longer, and hopped down from the balcony. I landed on the floor in a crouched position and straightened up, walking across the floor to meet my opponent. I stopped in the middle of the room and faced my opponent, my eyes locking on the floor.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO SADA-CHAN!!!!!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. "DON'T GIVE UP, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"NARUTO SHUT UP!!!!!" Sakura yelled, annoyed with his obnoxiously loud cheering.

I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed with all the noise, and looked up at my opponent. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes. Of course he was dressed in the purple outfit that all of Kabuto's team had been wearing. What was up with the purple outfit? Did they all like to look the same? I had no idea, but whatever the reason it was weird.

"COME ON SADA-CHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Naruto screamed yet again. "SHOW HIM HOW IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!"

"NARUTO SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed at him. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Shigure.

'Well...here goes nothing.'

Footsteps down the hallway. Quietness was all throughout the building, making the footsteps seem louder then they really were, the sound of them bouncing off the walls. Only a few people were in the building at the time, but those who were there, didn't associate that often with each other. Well…in the sense of talking about their pasts they didn't associate but besides that, they had small interactions with each other. They were all there for different reasons though, but they shared a common one, to rule the world. The blonde boy sighed, pushed his bangs out of his bright blue eye, and continued down the hallway. His reason for being there wasn't closely associated with everyone else's. He had joined this organization by force. They had made him join, fought him, he'd lost. He hadn't wanted to join, his goals before that were merely to let everyone know of his art. Of course joining this organization had it's advantages, people did know of his art, and that was the main thing that mattered to him.

He was young, one of the youngest members. He'd just turned sixteen last month, why did he have to be in a criminal organization when he was only sixteen? He'd been there since he was fourteen, of course more people had joined after him. Still…he was one of the youngest. Even though he had been forced into this organization in a way he was happy, happy that he didn't have to worry about what anyone who knew him would say. He never had to see any of them again.

He sighed again and stopped infront of a door. Not many people went into this room. Most of the time orders came through one of the members, but for him to actually be summoned like this, it must be something important. He stared at the door for a moment and finally knocked.

"Enter." said a cold voice.

He put on an emotionless face and entered the room as the voice had commanded. Closing the door behind him, he bowed slightly and stared at the man behind the desk. His yellow eyes were the only thing visible in the dark room, but everyone knew he had many different facial piercing and spiky orange hair. His name was Pein or at least that's what the members had been led to believe. Everyone was to call him leader-sama. That's how it had been since each of them had arrived, and it hadn't changed.

"Deidara." Pein said with little emotion. "I have a mission for you."

"And what mission would that be, leader-sama?" Deidara asked, standing up straight again.

"As you probably know, Kisame and Itachi are going on a mission in a little over a month to capture the Kyuubi." Pein said.

Deidara nodded and resisted the urge to role his eyes. Kisame had been complaining about this mission for months. About how he didn't want to go after some 'snot nosed kid', his complaining was annoying. Itachi, of course, hadn't really cared one way or another about the mission and told Kisame to shut up at least a couple hundred times. Then when Kisame was done complaining about going after the kid, he was complaining about the traveling, could he not complain for five minutes?

"Both Itachi and Kisame have no information on their target." Pein said, sounding bored. "I need you to gather information on the target." Deidara nodded, and Pein continued. "The boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki. You will be in the Village Hidden in the Leaves for one month gathering information." Again Deidara nodded. "It will take you a maximum of five days to arrive there, I want you to leave today." Deidara nodded and bowed again.

"Of course, leader-sama." he said respectfully.

"Dismissed."

Deidara walked out of the room and down the hallway again. He headed directly towards his room to gather some supplies. After grabbing everything needed for his mission he took his cloak off and shoved it into the bag he was carrying. He sighed boredly and head out of the hideout. Spying on a child, how fun this was going to be...not.

　PREIMINARY MATCHES

"Begin!" the proctor yelled. He jumped out of the way, most likely thinking the fight would immediately start, and I looked up from the floor in surprise. I stared at Shigure, wondering why he hadn't made any movement towards attacking me, and finally looked back down at the ground.

"Ok here's the deal." he said. I looked up at him confused, and he smirked. "How about you go ahead and give up, and I won't have to hurt that pretty face of yours."

'Excuse me?'

"COME ON SADA-CHAN, ATTACK THIS LOSER ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKE HIM DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Naruto raged. I glared at Shigure, someone was majorly over-confident. He could just get over himself, I could kick his ass for sure. I had trained under a S-Ranked Criminal, after all.

"How about you give up?" I asked coldly. "That way you won't have to be beaten up by a girl." I hated when men thought they were so much more powerful than women, it pissed me off. Kiba laughed, and Akamaru yipped happily.

"That a girl Sada!" he yelled.

"You can do it!" Hinata said encouragingly.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

"DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lee screamed. I shook my head, slightly annoyed with them, and tuned out their voices. I stared at Shigure again, and he glared.

"Fine. I tried to give you a way out, but now you're going to pay." he said. I got into an elegant fighting stance and stared at him.

"Then go for it." I said; he did.

I dodged his punch and kicked him in the face, sending him flying a few feet backwards. I didn't know what kind of attacks he had so it was probably best to keep my distance...that is...if I decided to let him actually try to attack me. I stared at him for a second before closing my eyes and quickly doing some handsigns. 'Darkness reverse jutsu.'

Well to explain this jutsu I mainly used it against evil people. If someone was evil that meant that their soul was filled with darkness, hate, and so forth. What it did to those people was basically rip all the darkness out of their soul, and then it would end up killing them. It sounds simple, but it's not. It requires a large amount of chakra, and if the person is not evil, then you just wasted fourty percent of your chakra. I had a feeling this guy was evil though so I completed the last handsign and casted the darkness upon him.

I opened my eyes and watched for a few moments to see what was happening to him. Only I could see exactly how my darkness techniques took place, no one else had a clue what was going on since they didn't have my Night Vision jutsu.

"What'd she do?" Choji asked confused.

"I don't know." Shikamaru said. "She's just standing there."

"Neji, can you see what's going on?" Lee asked.

"Yes, it's...shocking." Neji said. Well…the powers of the Hyuuga clan could see through anything so I wasn't surprised by that.

"What's happening Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"I can't say." she whispered. "It's too...horrible."

I looked over across the room at the others. Gaara was staring at me with interest even though he didn't know what was going on, Kankuro just had no plain clue what was going on, Temari didn't really care either way, Kin was confused beyond confused, and Dosu wasn't really shocked by what my techniques could do...even though he didn't know what was going on. I looked back at Shigure and stared at his soul being ripped apart by the all the darkness inside it. It seemed like an evil technique to them, but that was only because they didn't understand how my village was. This was just the way things worked for us. 'His heart.' The darkness went straight for it. I looked down and heard his body make contact with the ground; he was dead. The proctor walked over, studied Shigure for a moment, and said

"The winner is Sada."

No cheering like everyone was doing before, they didn't understand my techniques. I sighed and stared at the ground while I walked away towards the stairs. 'Should I go over with my team or not?' I sighed again and went up the right staircase, away from the leaf shinobi, they never would understand me no matter what I did. I leaned against the wall near the stairs, away from everyone, and stared at nothing imparticular.

"Alright, let's start the next match."

'Why does no one understand me?'

**_Author's Note: Eh, again...not too much re-writing. Yayz! Deidara's coming to Konoha, I'm so excited =]_**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER THIRTEEN_

_Deidara sighed and looked at the Village Hidden in the Leaves from a distance. This mission was going to be so boring, especially since he didn't have anyone with him. Why couldn't Pein have decided to let Sasori come...then again...there was no one that could tell him what to do. He had total freedom to do whatever he pleased, he was the one giving orders this time, hah! Never mind, this mission was going to be awesome. There was also the fact that there were tons of girls in the village. He hadn't seen girls in what seemed like forever, this was going to be fun. He smirked and made his way towards the village, slowly at first._

_Finally arriving at the gates, he looked up towards the watch towers, and sighed boredly. 'Well, they're very observant.' He shook his head at the lack of security this village had and walked through the gates at ease._


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Friendship

"Each you will draw a number for the third part of the exams." the Hokage said. Anko walked infront of each person, holding a box, and said

"Alright, one number per person maggots." We each drew a piece of paper, and I looked at my number.

'5.'

"Numbers." Anko asked.

"Number one of course." Naruto said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Two." Neji said.

"I got three." Gaara said with no emotion.

"Five." I said, looking at the ground.

"Seven's mine." Kankuro said with a smirk.

"Nine." Temari said boredly.

"Troublesome, I'm ten." Shikamaru said.

"Eight." Shino said.

"Six." Dosu said.

"And that means Sasuke is number four." the Hokage noted. "Since each of you now know your opponents attacks, you will have one month to prepare yourselves for the next challenge." We nodded, and he continued. "Even though there is one winner of the Chunin exams, there's a chance that none of you will become Chunin."

"So that means there's also a chance all of us will become chunin." Temari stated.

"Correct." the Hokage said. "This month will give you a chance to make up some new moves and techniques against your opponents. I wish all of you good luck."

We nodded, and I stared at the ground for a moment before walking out of the room. 'A month to prepare. I haven't shown my kekkei genkai to anyone so in a way, there's no reason for me to even train. But there's no way I'm showing everyone my kekkei genkai. After the way they reacted to my darkness style techniques, my kekkei genkai would just totally freak them out. No showing my kekkei genkai, I won't use it. Training for a month it is…I wonder if I should train on my own or if I should find someone to help me. I think alone is the best bet, I'll be using darkness techniques, and they all don't like them. Why am I even thinking about training this early? I've just made it through a pretty tough week, there's no reason I should think about training when I don't even have enough chakra for it. I'll train later on, right now I need to focus on getting my strength back.' I sighed and heard Naruto and Sakura talking behind me.

"You did great Naruto, really." Sakura said.

"Thanks Sakura-chan." Naruto said, happy at the compliment. "Are you going to visit Sasuke?"

"I was, but Kakashi-sensei said it was best if we didn't bother him today. He needs rest." Sakura replied.

"Oh, so do you want to go train?" Naruto asked, obviously not realizing how much chakra he'd lost.

"How about tomorrow?" she suggested. "You need rest as well."

"Ok." Naruto said, excited that Sakura was willing to train with him. "I wonder if Sada-chan would want to train with us."

"Naruto." Sakura hissed. "Something's not right. At least right now. She's...different."

I continued staring at the ground and walked into an alley, hoping to lose them. 'Why does everyone have to act like I'm evil? I'm not a bad person, I'm really not. Why does no one seem to understand that? Just because my techniques are different…it doesn't give them a reason to hate me. Why can't someone understand…why does no one see the way I'm suffering…how I feel so alone? Nande?' I sighed and went into a flower shop. I needed to visit Sasuke, I wanted to make sure he was alright. After that battle he had, I was worried about him. I was beginning to think of Sasuke as my best friend…and I wanted to tell him that he meant alot to me. 'The Yamanaka's? I didn't know they owned a flower shop.'

"Konnichiwa, can I help you?" Mrs. Yamanaka greeted.

"Could I get something...special?" I asked quietly. "Something...beautiful?" She smiled and said

"I might have something like that." I nodded and looked around at the flowers until she came back. "Here you are." she said, handing me about five flowers. "They're jasmine flowers, some of the most beautiful ever to bloom." I handed her the money and walked out of the shop muttering a thank you. I walked down the street to the hospital and went to the front desk.

"Konnichiwa can I help you?" the nurse asked.

"Which room is Uchiha Sasuke in?" I asked quietly.

"I'm sorry miss, but he's not allowed any visitors at this time." she said.

I sighed, and the phone rang in the other room. She ran to answer it, and I grabbed the paper that had all room assignments on it. She couldn't stop me from visiting my best friend, and it'd only be a minute. It wasn't like I was planning on staying for six hours or something. 'Found it.' I put the clipboard back in its place and quickly walked down the hallway to Sasuke's room. I peeked in through the glass and saw that he was sleeping. 'I might as well just leave them.' I nodded to myself and quietly walked into the room. I cautiously closed the door and walked over to his bed. I looked down at his peaceful face for a moment before setting the flowers in a vase and filling it with water. 'I'm so happy he's alright. I was so worried something horrible happened to him. His chakra's went crazy two times already, what if something bad's going to happen to him? Would I manage to survive if I lost him? I know I don't really know too much about his past and why he's the way he is, but I feel like we have a connection. Like…it would destroy me if I lost him'

"Sada?" I looked back from the vase, snapping out of my thoughts, and saw Sasuke sitting up. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, curious as to why I wasn't resting. I looked down and whispered

"Gomen. I didn't mean to wake you, I was just worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were alright after your match." I looked up at him through my bangs, and he nodded.

"I'm fine, just a little sore." he said honestly.

I nodded and rubbed my arm self-consciously, my eyes meeting his. As I stared into his eyes, I could see him struggling to keep his emotions in. Was there something he wanted to tell me? It looked like he was struggling with the emotions of confusion, his emotionless wall, protectiveness, and...maybe care.

"Sit by me." he said, breaking the awkward silence.

I nodded nervously and sat by him as instructed. He stared right into my eyes for a few moments, and I stared back into his. I couldn't make myself focus on seeing the emotions, it looked like he was focusing on seeing mine though. I felt so comfortable, sitting here next to him, he really was the best friend I needed. I wanted to tell him that he was important to me, but I knew I couldn't immediately say that. I had to work my way up to saying it. I thought and thought and thought for a good while, trying to get my brain to think of something to say to him. Finally, after a long period of time, I decided to break the silence.

"You're going to be fighting Gaara in the final rounds." I told him.

"Ah, the sand shinobi." he mumbled, sounding interested. "How did Sakura and Naruto do?"

"Sakura fought against Ino." I replied. "They both ended up tying." He nodded and muttered

"Of course." I shook my head, slightly amused that he saw the same thing in Sakura that I saw, and said

"Naruto, on the other hand, fought Kiba and Akamaru. He won."

"Naruto won?" he inquired. I nodded, and he smirked. "I knew he would, he's one of the ones I want to fight the most." I looked down towards the bed sheets, and he said "Who's he fighting in the final rounds?"

"Neji." I answered. "I'm worried that he won't win with how powerful Neji is."

I glanced up to see Sasuke nod, and he leaned back on the bed a little. I could tell that he still wasn't feeling well, perhaps I needed to wrap the conversation up and let him rest some more.

"Who else is fighting?" he asked.

"Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru, Shino, and Dosu." I replied.

"How did your match go?" he asked curiously. I shook my head remembering the looks everyone had given me and lowered my head sadly. "You lost?" He sounded shocked.

"No." I whispered.

"Then what happened?" he asked, even more confused than before. I sighed quietly and continued staring at the bed.

"They hate me." I said softly.

"Who?" he asked, not understanding who I was talking about.

"Everyone." I replied. "They're...afraid of me."

"Nande? What happened?" He sounded concerned about me, we really were getting much closer than we'd ever been before.

"I did a jutsu, and they...didn't understand it. They didn't look at it the way I did, and they all hate me for it." I whispered sadly.

"I don't hate you." I looked up at him, and he slowly moved his hand to my face, stroking my cheek softly. "Don't be upset over them." he whispered. I looked away feeling tears roll down my cheeks, and he scooted closer to me, hugging me tightly. "They're not worth it." I snuggled close to him, happy that I had someone that understood what I was feeling, and he stroked my hair softly. "Naruto and Sakura just don't understand everything the way we do. The things we've both been through are something they could never understand. The pain, being alone, the betrayal, everything." I nodded in agreement, and he placed his chin on top of my head. "It's all going to be fine."

I nodded again and wiped at my tears. This was slightly different for us to be so close with each other, we hadn't been this physically close since the night before the exams began, but I liked it. I enjoyed being held by someone, knowing that I had a best friend that understood the pain I was feeling. I knew Sasuke wasn't the type of person that just touched anyone so I knew that he cared about me the same way I cared about him. I was lucky to have him by my side like this, he really meant a lot to me.

"Gomen." I apologized, hiding my face in his shirt.

"For what?" he asked, not understanding what I was talking about.

"Being so weak." I whispered, feeling like crying was a sign of weakness. "I hate being so pathetic."

"You've been through alot." Sasuke said, no longer hiding the sympathy he was feeling for me. "You're not being weak."

I sighed and began to wonder if he was right. Maybe...I wasn't weak, I was ready to let him know he appreciative I was of him, that I considered him my best friend…but what to say. I looked up into his eyes and said softly

"Arigato Sasuke-kun."

He looked at me curiously, hearing the new title I had added to his name, and smiled one of his rare smiles at me. He knew how much I cared about him now, we were 'unofficially' best friends.

"You're welcome Sada-chan."

I nodded, happy that he looked at me the same way, and buried my face in his shirt. Maybe things needed to be this way, we both needed to have someone to trust. I was ready to trust Sasuke a little more, and I even had the feeling he was ready to trust me the same way.

_THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE LEAVES_

Deidara sighed and looked at the Village Hidden in the Leaves from a distance. This mission was going to be so boring, especially since he didn't have anyone with him. Why couldn't Pein have decided to let Sasori come...then again...there was no one that could tell him what to do. He had total freedom to do whatever he pleased, he was the one giving orders this time, hah! Never mind, this mission was going to be awesome. There was also the fact that there were tons of girls in the village. He hadn't seen girls in what seemed like forever, this was going to be fun. He smirked and made his way towards the village, slowly at first.

Finally arriving at the gates, he looked up towards the watch towers, and sighed boredly. 'Well, they're very observant.' He shook his head at the lack of security this village had and walked through the gates at ease.

"Can we help you?" a voice asked.

Damn, he hadn't been expecting this. He looked over to his right and stared at the two male shinobi sitting behind a desk. Deidara looked at them for a moment, studying their chakra, and inwardly smirked at how pathetic they were. He nodded and said

"I'm hoping to move into this village, is that a problem? Yeah."

"Ano, not at all." one of the shinobi said. "You'll have to see the Hokage first."

Deidara nodded, mentally cursing, and let the other shinobi lead him to the Hokage's building. He sighed to himself as he followed the shinobi, smirking when he saw a few girls staring at him. 'And as usual, I'm the center of attention. It's not my fault I'm attractive.' He chuckled to himself, and the shinobi looked back at him.

"I'm sure that you'll like it here." he said politely. Deidara nodded in agreement and said

"Yeah, I've heard this is a good place to start over."

The shinobi nodded, smiling a little. This kid had pretty strong chakra, he was sure he was a shinobi. Perhaps he'd be of some help to Konoha if a war would every break out between the countries.

"Do you have skills as a shinobi?" he inquired, Deidara nodded.

"I'm not too amazing at it un. Just Chunin rank." he lied, shrugging a little.

"You're chakra's pretty impressive." he stated, not noticing that Deidara was suppressing a good amount of his chakra. "Maybe a few months more and you'd advance to Jounin." Deidara chuckled to himself and shoved his hands in his pockets boredly. This guy sure was an idiot.

"Arigato un. I'm hoping to do a little good in the village once I get used to daily life and such." he said. The shinobi nodded, not seeing the lie. They both walked up the stairs, heading for the Hokage's office. The shinobi knocked once on the door, and Sarutobi said

"Come in." The shinobi opened the door and allowed Deidara to walk in. The shinobi exited the building, leaving Deidara alone with the Hokage.

'Idiot.'

"Can I help you?" the Hokage asked, watching Deidara walk in.

"I'm wanting to move into the village, but the idiotic guards wouldn't let me through without your consent, yeah." Deidara said with a slightly annoyed tone. The Hokage chuckled and shook his head, slightly amused. Young people, they didn't understand.

"That's their job though." he stated. Deidara nodded absentmindedly and stared at the old man.

'I hope I never get that old.'

"If I may ask, why do you want to settle in this particular village." Sarutobi inquired, recognizing Deidara had some pretty impressive chakra. What rank was the boy?

"It's far away." Deidara said simply. The Hokage looked at him confused, and Deidara sighed, knowing he had to pull out some explanation. "Too many bad memories, it seems like the farther away I am from them, the more I'll be able to avoid them. Yeah." The Hokage nodded, understanding that the blonde didn't want to talk anymore about the memories, and smiled.

"Well then, welcome to the Leaf Village."

'Finally, that took forever.' The Hokage handed Deidara some keys and gave him directions to his new apartment. Deidara thanked him, not really meaning it, and walked out of the building boredly. 'God, the people in this village seem so annoying.' he thought, rolling his eyes at all the glares he was receiving from men in the village. He sighed to himself and looked at the sky boredly. 'I miss flying.' He looked over hearing whispers and smirked seeing a couple girls looking at him. 'Of course _I'm_ the center of attention.' He smirked again and continued walking to his apartment, smirking at every stare he got from the girls. 'It's good to be me, I think that's a good twenty girls that were staring and blushing.'

He chuckled in amusement. Deidara finally arrived at his apartment and walked inside without much interest; he wasn't really expecting much. After looking around his apartment for a moment, he finally dumped everything out boredly, and didn't bother to organize anything; this was _his_ mission. He sighed and looked around his apartment again. 'Hm? I wonder if I have any interesting neighbors. Probably not, there's barely anyone worth associating with if they're not an artist.' He rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and finally fell back onto the couch. 'Well, this mission is boring already. I wonder if I should get started on finding the kid...yeah right. I'll wait and get used to the village...maybe look around at some cute girls. Or...fly.' Deidara smirked and went over to his bag, searching for his clay. He smirked coming across his clay and bolted to the window. He jumped out the window and headed in the direction of the forest. 'Flying here I come.'

_A FEW DAYS LATER; THE TRAINING GROUNDS_

I looked around the training grounds boredly and finally at the targets. I sighed and set them up in the most random places I could think of. I walked into the middle of them and closed my eyes. I grabbed my kunai from my weapon's pouch and jumped into the air. I did a random flip and dropped them trying to test my memory by controlling them with darkness, I listened.

_CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK_

I dropped to the ground in a crouched position and opened my eyes. 'Perfect.' I'd hit every single one of the targets...after my third time trying that is. I took a breath and gathered the kunai, not really thinking about what I was doing. I was mostly thinking about what everyone thought of me, wondering if they all hated me. After the preliminary matches, it seemed like a large amount of the Leaf shinobi were avoiding me. I knew it was more than likely because they were terrified of my techniques, they just didn't understand anything about my village. Most of them had never even heard of my village, so I wasn't surprised that they didn't understand why my techniques were they way they were. I put the targets back where I had originally found them and looked across the training grounds boredly.

I tilted my head to the side, seeing the Sand Team training out there. All of them had made it to the final rounds of the Exams. I knew they were all pretty tough from how they'd kicked ass during the preliminaries and I knew they were most likely going to be a challenge. Temari had kicked Tenten's ass and barely done anything. That fan of hers was super powerful. Kankuro was the puppeteer in the group, and he'd won without breaking a sweat. Gaara had the toughest time out of the three of them, but he'd still won the match. Everyone was terrified of him, including his team. I'd been shocked and all, watching him battle Lee during the Exams, it looked like he had some hidden thirst for blood. At the same time though, I could tell how lonely he was. The look in his eyes…his eyes screamed for someone to notice how much he was suffering. I was able to see it as well. I saw how sad he was…how much he secretly wished someone would be there for him. I had to find some things out, and that meant I'd have to talk to Gaara. I knew he was dangerous, there was no doubt about it…but I wasn't going to leave him all alone to suffer. I'd suffered for years on my own, without anyone caring about me. Now I had Sasuke, Sasuke cared for me, but Gaara has no one. He needed someone, and I was going to be the one to notice that…I would be the one to be there for him. I refused to allow anyone to suffer the way I had for years of my life. I took a deep breath and began walking across the training grounds towards the Sand Team.

**Author's Note: Some of you might recoginize that the scene with Kiba is gone, well there's a good reason for that, it'll be vital for the rest of the story. Another thing, yeah the ending when she goes towards the Sand shinobi, that happened in like chapter twenty something. Again, there's a good reason for all this mismatching. You'll find out soon enough why =]**

_PREVIEW!!!_

_"The way you are." I replied softly. "You're struggling."_

_He glared darkly at me and walked towards me. I backed up into a tree, trying to make myself not look afraid, and he stood right infront of me. He was close enough to me that I couldn't get away, but I didn't want to. I was the only person that could help Gaara. I was the only kind enough person that he'd be willing to talk to…once I got through to him that is. I needed to get him to trust me so I stood there, not looking for any type of escape_

"Who have you been talking to?" he asked coldly.

"No one." I replied, my voice sounding very sweet.

"Then how do you know?" he asked.

"Know what?" I repeated, looking straight into his eyes.

_Now I was starting to get confused, what was he talking about exactly? Was there something about him I didn't know?_


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Curiousity

I walked across the training grounds in the direction of the Sand Team. Kankuro was sitting on the ground, Temari was standing beside where he was sitting, and Gaara was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. None of them were really doing anything. Their sensei, what was his name...Baki, wasn't there. I was guessing they were standing out there waiting for him to arrive so they could do some training. Whatever the reason, it was good for me. Now I could finally figure why Gaara was so angry at the world, and why he acted the way he did. Kankuro and Temari acted like they obeyed anything Gaara said, and it seemed like it was out of fear. He was the smallest out of the team, but it seemed like he was their leader in an unspoken kind of way. I knew how powerful Gaara was from his battle with Lee, and I guessed that was the reason that Kankuro and Temari obeyed him the way they did. I wanted to know more about Gaara, I wanted to be able to help him through whatever he was struggling through. Sasuke had rescued me from my loneliness, and even though we weren't insanely close…I still trusted him. He hadn't made my life one hundred percent perfect, but he'd made it a hell of alot better. I knew that if I still had Haku here with me, then I'd be so happy, I'd have the boy I was in love with here with me…but I didn't. I just had to deal with that.

I was determined though, to be the person to help Gaara. I could tell through the look in his eyes that he'd always been alone, and he still felt alone even though he was always with his team. He didn't see them as friends, he just saw them as a nuisance, getting in his way. I felt bad for him, and I wanted to be able to help him overcome his loneliness, I wanted him to feel like he wasn't alone, and like he was able to trust people. People were cruel yes, but not all people were. I knew I wasn't a cruel person, and I knew that I was the only person that could help Gaara. I was rather curious though, about what had caused him to become the person he was today. It wasn't like me to be nosy about people, seeing as I never wanted to tell people about myself, but there were tons of things about Gaara that I needed to know and I needed to know them _now_. I _needed _to help him. It also wasn't like me to just go up and randomly start talking to people. That was probably going to surprise them that I, Miss Quiet, came up and started talking to them. They were facing the opposite direction that I was approaching from but if they were as clever as I thought they were, they had probably already sensed my unhidden chakra. Now that I was closer, I could hear what they were talking about.

"Where is Baki already?" Kankuro groaned. "This is getting so annoying just waiting here."

"He's probably busy with something right now." Temari said, looking down at him. "He'll be here sooner or later." Kankuro groaned again and started messing with chakra strings.

"Demo…I have this new technique that was going to crush those Konoha punks that I wanted to show him." Kankuro said, sighing. Temari shook her head irritated with him, and Gaara sighed. He didn't seem like he was enjoying hearing this complaining.

"Shut up already." he said in an angry voice.

"Gomen Gaara." Kankuro apologized, cringing a little. Gaara opened his eyes as I stopped walking and looked straight at me.

"What do _you_ want?" he asked emotionlessly. Temari and Kankuro turned around to see what he was talking about and looked at me curiously. I looked down slightly but made myself make eye contact with him.

"I want to talk to you." I said, trying to get rid of all emotion in my voice. Kankuro stood up beside Temari and smirked.

"Nande?" he asked. I looked at Kankuro and back at Gaara, ignoring Kankuro's question.

"I need to talk to you...alone." I told him. Gaara looked at me slightly curious before changing his expression to emotionless and finally walked over towards me.

"Gaara, Baki will be here soon. You can't just go off." Temari said. Gaara glared at her and walked passed me.

"I can do whatever I want." he said coldly.

Temari bit her lip nervously, and I followed Gaara across the training grounds. We walked a little ways, not saying anything to each other, and finally stopped once we had gotten into the forest. He looked back at me, I could see that blood thirsty look in his eyes but he also looked curious as to why I wanted to talk to him. I stared at him, straight into his eyes, reading his emotions as best I could. 'Loneliness, despair, anger, betrayal, heartache in a family form rather than a relationship love…the poor guy.' He stared right back into my eyes as well, not saying anything. I took a breath, knowing that he wouldn't say anything to me unless I said something first, and finally said

"What was your childhood like?" He looked at me with anger, but I could sense that he was very confused as to why I was asking that.

"Nande?" he asked emotionlessly.

"The way you are." I replied softly. "You're struggling."

He glared darkly at me and walked towards me. I backed up into a tree, trying to make myself not look afraid, and he stood right infront of me. He was close enough to me that I couldn't get away, but I didn't want to. I was the only person that could help Gaara. I was the only kind enough person that he'd be willing to talk to…once I got through to him that is. I needed to get him to trust me so I stood there, not looking for any type of escape

"Who have you been talking to?" he asked coldly.

"No one." I replied, my voice sounding very sweet.

"Then how do you know?" he asked.

"Know what?" I repeated, looking straight into his eyes.

Now I was starting to get confused, what was he talking about exactly? Was there something about him I didn't know? Maybe it had something to do with that blood thirsty look he gave his enemy, the look he'd given me before he'd gotten confused. He grabbed his head and looked down at the ground.

"The...demon." he mumbled, bowing his head. I stared at him slightly confused as to what he was talking about, and he continued staring at the ground. "Oka-san."

Again, I looked at him confused, and lightly touched his head. He didn't pull back but roughly grabbed my wrist. I winced slightly at the pain but closed my eyes. I knew that if I stayed right here and didn't try to pull out of his grip, it would confuse him but in a subtle way, it would show him what it was like to have someone there for him. I knew he wouldn't understand it so I'd have to explain it to him later on.

'Dark mind entrance jutsu.'

This jutsu just allowed me to go inside my enemies mind and read anything I wanted. I could find out what they were thinking about at that exact moment in time, or I could find out what they were thinking last year. I could also look back into their past as far back as I wanted to go. Right now I wanted to see Gaara's childhood. I finally opened my eyes and shook my head sadly. Poor Gaara, all the torture he had went through. All the hatred, shunning, sadness, no wonder he was the way he was now. I understood perfectly how he was feeling about being shunned and hated. I just was too much of an emotionally fragile person to turn my sadness into anger, but I knew how Gaara was feeling. I understood what it was like to be betrayed and hurt, shunned by your family, and what it was like to lose anyone that had so much as cared about you. He looked up at me with an expression of anger, apparently he didn't like being touched. Even though the pain in my wrist was growing from his tight grip, I was able to make myself give him a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry about what they did to you." I said kindly. "People can be very cruel." His look changed from anger to confusion, and his grip on my wrist loosened slightly. "My village was the same way, they always hated people they didn't understand. People like us, people that are different. I think all villages are that way."

"Nande...are you saying all this?" he asked slowly.

"Because I'm being truthful with you." I said quietly. "I honestly can say I know what it's like." He looked at me confused again, and I smiled slightly. "Alot of people don't understand it, why some people are angry at the world, it's because they've never had someone that cared for them. I never had that…for the longest time I was alone…" Gaara looked at me with an emotionless look and said

"My uncle…" He stopped, and I gave him a 'keep going' look. He didn't seem to understand the caring look I was giving him, and I said softly

"Nani? What happened with your uncle?" He didn't look like he understood why I was being so nice to him, but he still said

"He tried to kill me." I felt my eyes soften, and he moved his eyes up towards sky. "He…betrayed me."

"Nande?" I asked quietly.

I knew I was going to have to push him to talk if I wanted to understand him. It was the only way to get him to open up, and I wanted him to be able to get all these hurtful emotions out. I'd always kept my emotions locked inside me, but when I'd told Sasuke, I'd felt better. Letting out your feelings, made you feel better. That was just simple logic. I knew Gaara didn't understand that though, so I needed him to get out his emotions. Once he opened up to me, I knew I'd be able to trust him. Maybe then he'd realize what it was like to have someone that cared for him, he'd be able to let go of some of his anger. After that…hopefully we could be friends.

"He tried to kill me...because I have a demon." Gaara said after a minute.

I shook my head sadly and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Gaara really did need a friend, and I knew I was the only person that was willing to be his friend. I hugged him, knowing it was the only way to show him that I cared about him, and he flinched slightly. He didn't understand hugs either I was guessing, I'd have to explain a hug as well. I didn't mind though, I wanted to be able to help him.

"What are you doing?" he asked emotionlessly.

"Showing you I care through a hug." He didn't make any movement, and I hugged him tightly. "A hug is a way to show people that you care about them, I care about _you_ Gaara. I want to help you, I don't want you to be alone anymore." I whispered.

A few seconds passed in silence, a few very _long _seconds. I was surprised when I felt him slowly place his arms around me, it was as if he didn't know what to do. He must've never been shown this type of affection before. It was one of the most awkward hugs, but I'd felt since the beginning of the exams that Gaara was someone that would understand me just like Sasuke did. He also needed a friend, someone that would be able to help him overcome his loneliness. I felt bad for him, and I didn't want him have to suffer through anymore of his life alone.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." He nodded a little, and I heard him say quietly

"Arigato."

'He's just like me, he really is. He needs a friend, and I'm willing to be here for him through everything.'_HOURS LATER_

I'd been talking with Gaara for the past couple of hours, and I never thought that someone like him would be able to open up the way he did. He wasn't the crying type, but every time he got to a part of his life that hurt him badly, he'd go quiet for a few minutes. I did my best to help him, and to my great surprise, it seemed like everything I said helped him. He didn't seem to really understand in the beginning why I'd been acting so kind towards him, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was relieved to have someone that finally cared about him. It was like we'd become friends in an unspoken way, I considered him a friend, and I was pretty sure he was contemplating on whether or not I was his friend. I'd explained to him what a friend was and at first…I didn't really think he understood it. As time went by though, I could tell that he was beginning to understand things a little better that had to do with emotions other than hate.

I didn't tell him anything about me, because my main priority right now was helping him. He'd told me about how the Shukaku was sealed inside him before he was born, and that's the reason his mother had died. As a child, all the other children ignored him and avoided him. He'd never had a friend before, all of them shunned and hated him. All the adults in his village had always treated him with hate and disgust, even his own father was that way towards him. He told me that at first it seemed like on his uncle cared for him, but when he attempted to kill him, Gaara had snapped. He'd killed his uncle and gave himself the tattoo for love on his forehead. The poor guy, he'd never known what it was like to be cared for by another person. But I was happy that I had made some slight progress with him, he didn't glare at me every time I asked him something. Instead he'd glare at me if he got angry, but he hadn't threatened to kill me anymore so that was majorprogress.

Now we had just decided to head back to the training grounds because Gaara's sensei was probably there, wondering where he'd disappeared to. We were walking the rest of the way out of the forest towards the training grounds when Gaara said

"Sada?" I looked over at him, and he continued to stare straight ahead. "Arigato...for listening to me."

"You're welcome." I said quietly.

"No one's ever listened to me before." he told me. "Not until...today." I nodded, understanding what he meant, and stared down at the ground.

"Like I said before, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here." I told him. I glanced up to see him nod, and we walked out of the forest, across the training grounds together.

"You're the first person that's ever…cared." he said, hesitating a little.

"That's because I'm your friend." I said kindly.

He nodded again, I think that after everything we'd been through today, he actually understood what a friend was now. I looked up ahead to see Baki standing there with Kankuro and Temari; he looked pissed off.

"How could you let him leave like that?" Baki yelled. "If he killed that girl then we're going to have to go out and find her dead body!"

"Baki-sensei we tried to stop him." Temari exclaimed.

"Yeah, but he pulled the whole 'I can do whatever I want' thing on us. It scared us to death. You know how he gets." Kankuro said.

"You're supposed to be his older siblings. That means you're responsible for him!" Baki yelled angrily.

"Stop yelling." Gaara said emotionlessly. "I'm right here." They all looked back at us, and I looked down towards the ground. They looked surprised that I was still alive. "Let's just train already." I looked up at Gaara, and he looked right back at me.

"I'll see you later then." I promised. Gaara nodded, and I pulled out a slip of paper out of my pants pocket. I quickly scribbled down my address and handed it to him. "Stop by anytime you want to talk." I told him. He nodded, hesitantly taking the paper, and I gave him one of my sympathetic looks. "Promise me." His eyes narrowed into a glare but it immediately vanished, I guess he realized I'd said that because I was concerned about him.

"Ok." he promised.

I nodded, proud of the slight progress I had made with him, and turned on my heal. I head of the training grounds without looking back, feeling happy that I'd managed to help someone.

**Author's Note: So now you all know why I mixed the chapters up. I wanted to give Sada and Gaara an entire chapter to themselves, I love Gaara. He's one of my favorite characters, and I made Sada the way she is so she could connect with Gaara. I always wanted Gaara to have a friend in here that helps him before Naruto does, and I kept that in mind while I was writing the story before I even got to the Chunin exams part...eh I'm rambling. Sorry =/**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER FIFTEEN_

_"So un." She looked at Deidara, and he smiled his charming smile at her. "What's your name hm?"_

_"Sada." she whispered. He nodded, recognizing how much it suited her, and said_

_"I'm Deidara." She gave a short nod and looked up at his headband._

_"You're from the Village Hidden in the Rocks?" she stated._

_"Don't remind me, I hated it there, yeah." he said honestly._

_'Why do I feel so comfortable talking to her. I've never felt this comfortable talking to a girl before…I never did, not even back in the Rocks.'_

_"I hated my village too." she said quietly, he looked at her slightly confused._


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Comfort

A few days had passed, and I already had a few techniques for the final rounds of the Chunin exams. I was so bored though that it wasn't even funny, it was never funny when I was bored though. Sasuke had disappeared from his room so I had no one to _actually _talk to that was on my team. Sakura was avoiding me because she was afraid of me and my techniques. I didn't really care all that much, but it hurt a little to know my own team mate didn't trust me. Naruto was listening to Sakura and staying away from me as well, but he was also busy with his own training, he'd gotten someone to help him. I had no clue who the guy was, but he was a real pervert if that said anything at all. I sighed and looked down at Naruto training with his current sensei. He had long white hair, and the rest really didn't matter because he really creeped me out. Although I sometimes wondered how older people were able to keep themselves as strong as they were, but it wasn't really that important to think on. I sighed and hopped off the roof I was sitting on. I didn't want Naruto to think I was spying on him because I wasn't. I'd just gotten bored and started hopping on random people's roofs since I already had a few techniques made up for the final rounds.

I sighed and straightened up, walking down the street. I looked at the ground like I usually did, thinking about random things. The wind blew my hair around my face, and I stopped. 'It's weird. It feels like Haku is here with me.' I shook my head, and the wind blew my hair to the left. I looked over and saw an arts and crafts store. Haku had always said I had a talent for art, maybe it was time I actually gave it a shot. I shook my head, slightly annoyed with all the flashbacks I'd been having lately, and finally walked into the store.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" the owner yelled from the back room. I sighed and started looking around the store. I picked up a few sketch books, some calligraphy pens, oil pastels, paintbrushes, paint, now all I needed was an easel. "Can I help you?" the owner asked, appearing out of no where. I nodded and looked at him.

"Do you perhaps have an easel?" I asked quietly. He nodded and said

"I'll be right back."

I nodded and put everything on the counter, still looking around the shop. 'Is there anything else I might need? Watercolors!' I quickly got some water colored paint, and by that time the owner was back.

"My my, someone must be an artist." he said with a grin. I looked down embarrassed, and he chuckled. "If I do something for you, will you not tell anyone?" I looked up at him curiously and nodded, wondering what he was going to say. "I don't do this very often, but my daughter's wedding is coming up. I'll give you all this for free if you paint something for me."

"What exactly do you want me to paint?" I asked.

"Coyfish." he said. "They need to look unique though, original." I nodded and said

"Ok, deal." He smiled and bagged everything for me.

"Arigato." he said

"It's no problem." I said, a little happy that I'd received everything for free.

He nodded, and I walked out of the store. 'Yay! I have to paint something on command...that really bugs me.' I sighed and looked through my bags trying to figure out what colors to use for this guy's painting. 'Orange, red, bright yellow, yeah. Yellow would be pretty. Maybe some blue, or some green, and-' My thoughts immediately stopped when my shoulder made contact with something.

_THE STREETS OF KONOHA_

Deidara sighed to himself and continued walking around the village boredly. He'd went flying a couple times in the past few days, but it even seemed like flying had it's disadvantages at times. He couldn't keep his mind focused on the mission. He'd observed the Naruto kid a couple of times but after a few minutes of it, he got bored because this kid kept doing the same old boring techniques. He'd talked to a few girls around the village, but none of them were artists or even understood what art was for that matter. They were all pretty cute of course, but they weren't the right type of girl. He'd always been one of those guys that wanted a deep girl. Someone poetic and artistic even if it wasn't the 'regular' type of art that everyone thought about. Of course he wanted her to be at least cute, but most of the cute girl's in this village were idiots. He sighed and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. Why couldn't he find the right kind of girl?

"Itai." He stopped hearing that and cursed mentally seeing a girl on the ground infront of him. Why had he been daydreaming at a time like this?

"Gomen, yeah." he said, looking down at her.

She looked up, and his heart seemed to stop in his chest. She was absolutely beautiful. Her blue-violet hair was an amazing shade, absolutely perfect, no split ends, all the same length. Wow, no girl took care of their hair this well. Her hair fell halfway down her back and her bangs hung slightly infront of her eyes. Her light red eyes were beautiful, her face was heart shaped, her skin a creamy white color...wow. That's all he was thinking...wow. He offered his hand automatically, and she looked at it hesitantly. She finally took his hand, and he helped her up.

"Gomen." he apologized.

"It wasn't your fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." she said quietly. Her voice...dang it was pretty.

"No it was-" he started.

"Crap!" she interrupted. She grabbed her bags off the ground and started looking through them. "Please tell me that nothing busted."

'Nevermind, this girl's an idiot.' He sighed and picked up one of the bags. He looked inside expecting to see anything but what he did see; art supplies? 'Ok, nevermind again, that's what she was panicking over, the paint. Maybe she wouldn't be too bad to talk to.' He smiled to himself and handed the bag over to her.

"Here's your bag, yeah." he said with a small smile. She looked up at him and nodded, taking it slowly.

"Arigato." she whispered.

"No problem un." he replied. He smiled again and picked up another of her bags. "Need some help, hm?" She looked at him slightly shocked before nodding.

"Please." she whispered. He grinned and picked up _yet _another bag. "Ano…my house is this way."

He nodded and walked beside her as they head down the street. She seemed so shy and quiet, why was she acting that way? Maybe it was just because of him, all the girls in this village acted different around him. It was because of his looks of course, all sorts of girls swooned at the sight of him. Even when he'd been back in the Village Hidden in the Rocks, he'd had plenty of female admirers and a ton of different girlfriends. He'd always loved messing with girls, making them fall for him, and dumping them without a second thought. It'd was how he'd been his whole life, sure he did want a _real _girlfriend but that was impossible with him being in the Akatsuki. Since his mother had died when he was a child, he'd sort of lost all respect for women, that's why he was such a heartbreaker. All the poor girls back in the Rock Village. He smiled cockily at the thought and looked over at her. She wasn't even paying attention to him, she was staring at the ground.

'Ok, what's up with this girl? She seems so...sad. I've never seen someone look this sad before in my life. Wait…why is this even bothering me, it's not like I even know who she is. Damn it, her name. What's her name?'

"So un." She looked at Deidara, and he smiled his charming smile at her. "What's your name hm?"

"Sada." she whispered. He nodded, recognizing how much it suited her, and said

"I'm Deidara." She gave a short nod and looked up at his headband.

"You're from the Village Hidden in the Rocks?" she stated.

"Don't remind me, I hated it there, yeah." he said honestly, without thinking about what he'd just said.

'Kuso. Why did I tell her that? I'm not supposed to give out any real information on this mission, damn it. Well...it's not my fault that I forgot to take my headband off. This girl's too observant, I hadn't expected girls to be observant. Most of them are idiots to begin with. Demo...why do I feel so comfortable talking to her. I've never felt this comfortable talking to a girl before…I never did, not even back in the Rocks.'

"I hated my village too." she said quietly, interrupting his thoughts. He looked at her slightly confused.

'Isn't she from this village?'

"Aren't you from this village though, hm?" he asked, voicing his thoughts.

"No, I moved here." she said quietly.

He nodded to himself and sighed. This girl was getting more interesting by the second, why did he want to keep talking to her? It wasn't like he could get in a real relationship, the Akatsuki _definitely _wouldn't allow that. But, there was something different about this girl. Something that he'd never seen in any other girl he'd been with. He couldn't put his finger on it, but-

"Well...this is my place." she said, stopping. He nodded, not believing he was thinking so much about one measly girl, and handed her the bags. "Arigato...for helping me."

"Like I said, it's no problem, yeah." he said, shrugging to himself.

She nodded and walked into the house without looking back. Deidara stared at the door for a moment and finally shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. She hadn't even looked back at him, all the girls did that. Wasn't she interested in him? He was the hottest guy in the village for god's sake, there was no way that _anyone _could measure up to him. He sighed and shook his head again before walking towards his apartment. All that was on his mind as he walked, was this Sada chick. She was very beautiful for one, and her voice sounded enchanting. He'd never met someone that had both a beautiful voice and was as extremely beautiful as she was. He wasn't feeling like himself, he didn't want to toy with this girl. He wanted to go out with her and get to know her, but he didn't want to toy with her…what the hell was he thinking? That wasn't like him at all. He was a heartbreaker, he messed with girls and broke their hearts. He couldn't possibly _like_ this girl...he'd just met her. He'd _never _actually liked a girl, he liked toying with them. But…he didn't want to mess with her emotions, he didn't want to hurt her. This was so unlike him. He sighed to himself, heading inside his apartment to clear his thoughts. Why did he have to be thinking like this, why couldn't he get Sada out of his head, and most importantly...why did he want to _actually_ get to know her?_THE NEXT DAY, SADA'S HOUSE_

'There, it's all finished.' I looked at all the coyfish I'd just finished touching up in my painting and sighed quietly. 'It looks absolutely perfect. Now all I have to do is wait for it to finish drying, and I can give it to the owner of that store.' I nodded to myself and sighed boredly. I was rather happy with the new accommodations I had received. The Hokage had decided since my apartment was so far away from the training area that he actually switched me over to a house. An actual house, it was so awesome. The Hokage was a very generous man, he'd actually switched me over to a house after the preliminary matches were finished. I sighed again and my thoughts switched to the guy I had met yesterday; Deidara. He was extremely cute for one, but the thing that bothered me was that I had actually told him something without him asking me. I didn't do that with anyone, not even Sasuke, I barely knew this guy so...why did I tell him something without him having to ask?

I shook my head, slightly confused with myself, and looked down at my clothes. 'Well at least now I can say I'm an artist.' They were splattered with all sorts of different paint colors, it looked really cool, but it didn't seem...me. Well...the me everyone thought I was. I sighed again and took my hair down. Putting my hair up was something else that didn't seem me. I sighed quietly and shook my head to make my hair go in my face. I didn't like keeping it out of my face really, that's just how I was; It was my security blanket. I sighed again and picked up the painting. 'Whatever, it should be dry by now.' I walked out of my house and down the street to the art store. I walked in and stared at the owner talking to someone...Deidara? What was he doing here? Did he like art…or was he just looking for a job?

"You'll have to make the work schedules out three times. Once for each week." the owner was saying.

"Will I have to pay them un?" Deidara asked, not looking very interested in what this guy was saying.

"Only three times." the owner replied. "Making out pay checks isn't that hard. You're going to be the manager for the rest of the month." Deidara nodded, and the owner looked at me. "There's my favorite artist." he said happily. I nodded, slightly creeped out that he considered me his favorite artist since he didn't know a thing about me, and he walked over to me.

"Here's your painting." I said, handing it over.

"It's absolutely perfect." he said smiling. "This girl." He looked at Deidara and pointed to me. "Give her discounts everytime she buys something." Deidara nodded, looking slightly impressed by my painting, and the owner grabbed his coat. "I have to get going now. My daughter needs help preparing for her wedding, bye." He walked out the door, and Deidara shook his head.

"I thought he was supposed to train me yeah." he muttered. I rolled my eyes, knowing Deidara was right, and he looked at me with a look that said he didn't know what to say. "So...can I help you with anything hm?"

"No, I know where everything is." I said quietly. He nodded, and I walked through the store looking for turquoise colored paint.

'Found it.' I nodded to myself and went up to the register. Deidara sighed and started pressing buttons.

"How do I work this thing un?" he muttered. I sighed quietly and shook my head to myself.

'Owners are so stupid at times. They don't even bother to train their employees.' I walked around to the register and pressed the correct buttons. It popped open, and he looked at me confused.

"How'd you do that, yeah?" he asked, I shrugged a little.

"It's rather easy." I stated, glancing at him nervously. I showed him how to work everything correctly, and he smiled.

"Arigato un." he said, handing over the paint.

"No problem." I replied.

He smiled again, and I walked to the door. 'Why am I so confused over him?' I walked out of the shop and head down the street towards my house. 'What in the world is going on with me? My emotions are confusing me so much. Why do I feel so comfortable talking to him? I don't even know him...I want to get to know him…why do I feel like I want to get to know him? GAH! Stupid crazy emotions, stop being weird.'

**Author's Note: Yayz! Sada and Deidara finally meet! It's taken forever but it's finally happened. As you can tell I did a little bit of re-writing on this chapter but not too much. I just loved this chapter so much =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER SIXTEEN_

_"Well...I was hoping maybe we could...if you wanted...maybe we could go to dinner, yeah." he said, stumbling over his words._

_"Oh."That was the only thing I managed to get out of my mouth, one word. What was wrong with me? I liked Deidara, weirdly enough. I thought he was incredibly cute, and I felt like I had some type of attraction towards him. Not just a physical attraction, but an emotional attraction. Sort of like the bond I had with Sasuke, only this one was a relationship type rather than friendship. I didn't know what to say though, I didn't know how to react to being asked on a date…what could I do? After a few minutes of me not saying anything else, I heard Deidara say_

_"Well, sorry for bothering you un." I looked up at him shocked, realizing that he'd taken my silence as a no, and he started down the stairs._

_"Deidara matte!" He looked back at me, and I lowered my voice. "I'd really like to go to dinner with you."_


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Surprise

Deidara sighed to himself and looked around the shop with a bored expression on his face. Sada, that's all his mind was on. After he'd got back to his house last night from walking her home, that's all his mind had been focused on. He concluded that his emotions didn't want to let him play with this girl like he'd done with all the others. She was quiet, shy acting, and it seemed like she was hurting. He didn't want to hurt someone that was already hurting, but he'd also come to the conclusion that he liked her...alot. After some more serious thinking, hours worth in fact, he'd come up with a solution to his problem; he would ask her out on a date. She had just been in the store, and he'd had the perfect chance. She'd been close enough to him that he could've whispered it to her so it wouldn't have embarrassed her infront of all the store employees, but his head had just went blank. He wasn't even able to work the cash register right, he'd looked like he'd never had a job before in his life. That had _never _happened to him. He wanted to get to know this girl, but how could he get to know her if he couldn't get words to come out of his mouth? Let alone getting his brain to actually process words, how did she manage to make him as nervous as she did? He didn't even have the guts to ask her out to dinner, what the hell was wrong with him? He'd never had this problem before with other girls, he usually just said what was on his mind. When it came to her though, he couldn't even think straight. Why did she have to have this weird affect on him? No other girl had made him feel this way before, and he had to figure out why he liked her as much as he did.

"Deidara-san are you ok?" Deidara looked at his coworker, Seji, and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm fine, un." he replied, looking around boredly again.

"You don't sound fine, what's wrong boss?" Seji asked. Deidara shook his head, not wanting to answer any questions, it wasn't any of this guy's business. "Is it about your family?"

"No."

"A friend?" he pressed.

"No."

"A girl." Bingo, he'd got it. Deidara didn't reply, hating that _he _was going to get advice from someone that wasn't half as attractive as he was, and Seji smiled amused. "I knew it, what's it about?" Deidara thought for a second and finally sighed in defeat. He knew this idiot wouldn't shut up until he said something, he might as well.

"I really like this one chick, but I don't know what to say to her. I want to ask her to dinner, but she just has this weird affect on me…yeah. I've never felt this way before, and I can't say anything around her without thinking that I sound like a complete and total idiot un. Then there's just the way she is, she's so quiet. I have no idea what's going on in her head yeah." Deidara said with a frustrated tone. He couldn't believe he'd just spilled his guts like this to a total stranger. Seji smiled again and shook his head, remembering how he'd had a similar problem.

"Alot of girls are confusing that way, you can't just let it get to you man. Just think of her as just a friend and ask her to dinner." Seji advised, Deidara narrowed his eye annoyed. It wasn't that simple, had this Seji guy not seen how gorgeous Sada was?

"Did you not _see _the violet haired girl that walked in hm?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow. Seji grimaced, realizing he was talking about the quiet girl that always stared at the ground while she walked, and nodded.

"Yeah…she's pretty." he admitted, his cheeks going a little pink. Deidara smirked, maybe now this guy realized the problem.

"She's not just pretty, she beautiful." Deidara stated matter-of-factly. "A work of art, a creation that god himself would be proud of. An angel sent down from the heavens." Seji raised an eyebrow, Deidara really must've liked this girl.

"So…you like her a ton then?" he guessed, Deidara nodded in agreement. "I could tell by the speech." Deidara rolled his eyes, idiots _really _didn't understand art.

"She is art." Deidara said slowly, Seji rolled his eyes.

"Yeah sure. Now go ask her to dinner damn it or someone else will." he stated, meaning every last word.

Deidara bolted out the door, feeling extremely confident for the first time he'd met Sada. He let out a sigh as he head in the direction of her house and whispered a silent prayer, that he'd never admit to out loud.

'Please let her say yes.'

__

SADA'S HOUSE; STUDIO

I sighed to myself, feeling a little happy about my new masterpiece, and looked at the abstract painting I had just finished; it was absolutely amazing. It reminded me of fireworks, I loved fireworks and explosions. They were just so beautiful when they lit up the night sky, all the lights were dazzling and just seemed to- 'A knock?' I looked at the doorway confused and shook my head. 'None of my teammates know where I live, who could it be?' I shook my head and put down my paintbrush. I walked out of my 'studio' to the front door. I sighed, wondering who it could be, and opened the door.

"Konnichiwa?"

I mentally gasped, what was Deidara doing here? This was something different, I hadn't expected to see him again…except when I went to the art store that is. I looked at him slightly confused, and he looked at me with a smile.

"Hi yeah." he greeted.

I could hear that he sounded confident, but I could also hear the slight nervousness in his voice. Why was he here? I looked at him feeling both confused and nervous at the same time, I hadn't expected someone as cute as Deidara to come up and willingly talk to me. I hadn't really been looking at guys since Haku had died, but Deidara was someone different. He caught my attention, I didn't know why though…I had to figure this out.

"Hi." I whispered, shuffling my feet. He stared at me, looking curious, and I finally realized that I was covered in paint.

'Dang it…he must be so confused.'

"Ano, did I interrupt something hm?" he asked, looking slightly angry with himself.

"Oh...ano...gomen…about my appearance. I was...painting." I stuttered, feeling stupid.

"No, I'm the one that should be apologizing yeah. I didn't mean to bother you...yeah." he said quickly, raising his hand up in an apologetic form. I looked down, feeling my cheeks heat up, and mentally slapped myself.

'Why am I blushing? Go away stupid blush. Gosh I feel so embarrassed, this isn't good. This isn't good at all.'

"No, it's fine. You didn't know." I mumbled, rubbing my arm. I looked up at him, and he nodded, still looking slightly angry with himself.

"So...I was wondering yeah..." I looked at him slightly confused, and he looked at the ground. I could tell by his words that his confidence was diminishing, and he was becoming more and more nervous. "Well...are you doing anything tonight...un?" He looked up hopefully, and I stared at him, slightly confused as to what he was saying. It finally clicked after a few long seconds, he wanted to go on a date.

"Ano...I don't know. I...don't think I had anything planned." I said quietly, feeling nervous that I'd been asked out on my first date. He nodded again and took a breath, I could tell by the way he'd taken the breath that he was nervous.

"Well...I was hoping maybe we could...if you wanted...maybe we could go to dinner, yeah." he said, stumbling over his words.

"Oh."

That was the only thing I managed to get out of my mouth, one word. What was wrong with me? I liked Deidara, weirdly enough. I thought he was incredibly cute, and I felt like I had some type of attraction towards him. Not just a physical attraction, but an emotional attraction. Sort of like the bond I had with Sasuke, only this one was a relationship type rather than friendship. I didn't know what to say though, I didn't know how to react to being asked on a date…what could I do? After a few minutes of me not saying anything else, I heard Deidara say

"Well, sorry for bothering you un." I looked up at him shocked, realizing that he'd taken my silence as a no, and he started down the stairs.

"Deidara matte!" He looked back at me, and I lowered my voice. "I'd really like to go to dinner with you." He smiled, looking extremely happy, and moved his bangs aside slightly.

"Ok yeah." he said, regaining the confident tone he'd had at the beginning of our conversation. "I'll pick you up at seven, yeah."

I nodded in agreement, and he took my hand in his. I looked at him confused as he politely kissed my hand and walked down the stairs. I touched my hand curiously and did something I hadn't done in years...I smiled.

_STREETS OF KONOHA_

Deidara continued his journey down the street and grinned confidently. 'I knew she'd say yes. I just knew it…ok, no I didn't. For a second I thought she was saying no to me, that silence really freaked me out. She looked shocked though, like she'd never been asked on a date before. How could a work of art like her be ignored, she's so angelic. I can't believe it, I've got a date with the most beautiful girl in this whole village and to make things better she's an artist. This is great…I can't believe I've actually found a girl I'm really interested in.' He grinned again, slightly surprised at the new emotions he was feeling, and walked into his apartment. 'Ok, what do I have to do?' He looked around his apartment for a moment and shook his head. 'Great, I'm going to be a horrible date. I haven't been on a date in years, what should I do?'

He shook his head annoyed with himself and mentally hit himself in the face. He finally had a date with Sada, and he didn't know what restaurant he was taking her to. He didn't even have a present for her. What was he going to do now? He scratched his head in thought before grabbing his money and walking out of his apartment. He walked down the street, looking for the fanciest restaurant he could find. He had to impress her, he never had worked this hard to impress a girl before, but he honestly liked Sada. He liked her more than he thought had been possible for him, he didn't understand it but he wasn't going to question it. He liked her, and there was no way he was giving her up now. Wait…he didn't need to be acting like she was his girlfriend, he'd only asked her to dinner, not to be his girlfriend. He couldn't help it though, when he pictured them standing together in his head, it looked…right. He sighed to himself, slightly happy he'd found a girl that he was _truly _interested in, and looked around, trying to find the best restaurant. 'Found it.' He took a breath and walked into the restaurant. He went to the front desk and looked at the man sitting behind it. 'Idiot.'

"Konnichiwa, can I help you?" he asked, looking at the blonde.

"Hai." Deidara said. "I was wondering if you had a free place in your restaurant tonight for two hm?"

"I'm sorry we're full. If you would like to make reservations then the earliest you could get in is a months time." the man told him.

"A month un?" Deidara asked shocked, this must've been the best restaurant. The man nodded and smiled.

"This is the best restaurant in Konoha." he said, confirming Deidara's thoughts. Deidara glared at him, he had to get into this restraunt.

"Is there any possible way you make an exception hm?" He tried his best to keep his tone calm, but he was so frustrated. He needed the best restaurant, he wanted to impress Sada...he liked her.

"Gomen, but no." the man said, smirking in amusement. Deidara's temper got the best of him, and he grabbed him by the collar.

"Listen and listen good. I have a date with the most beautiful girl in this god damn village, and you're going to give me fucking reservations for today yeah!" he yelled. The man flinched back in fear and nodded.

"Alright alright. Just calm down sir, here." He handed Deidara the reservation tickets and adjusted his glasses nervously. "What time do you need sir?"

"Seven fifteen." Deidara answered, trying to calm himself down.

"I'll make sure we have the best place in the restaurant saved for you." the man said, still feeling threatened.

"Arigato."

Deidara smirked to himself, happy that he was such a people person, and walked out of the restaurant. 'Now that that's over with I can worry about getting Sada a present.' He walked down the street and looked around at the shops. 'What do most girls like to get on a first date...flowers maybe?' He nodded to himself, remembering all the dates he had at his old village, and went into the nearest flower shop.

"Hi can I help you?" Ino asked, looking at the absolutely gorgeous blonde that had just walked into the store.

"Yeah." Deidara said, ignoring the fact that this girl was ogling him.

He'd never done that before, ignored a girl's impressed look, Sada must've really been getting to him. She was the only thing he was focused on at the moment. Deidara walked to the register, looking around at the flowers.

"Do you have some purple carnation flowers un?" he asked, ignoring Ino's _too_ friendly smile.

"How many would you like?" she asked, realizing that the blonde boy must've not been interested in her.

"Five." Deidara answered boredly, going through his wallet. Ino nodded and set up a bouquet of carnation flowers.

"Here you are." she said, handing them to Deidara. "That will be 1050 yen." Deidara nodded and handed the money over. "Please come again."

He nodded, not really paying attention to her, and walked out of the flower shop. 'Now what do I need to get her? Flowers are not good enough, I have to get something else.' He looked around for a moment and finally walked into a jewelry shop. 'I'll get her a bracelet I guess...but it has to be something pretty.' Deidara looked around the shop for a few minutes and finally came across a rather nice silver charm bracelet.

"Can I help you sir?" asked the manager of the jewelry store, Deidara nodded.

"That charm bracelet." he pointed out, the owner nodded.

"The charm comes with it free, you may pick whichever you like."

'Perfect.' Deidara nodded, recognizing that he could only pick one charm, and looked through the box. He finally settled on a electric blue butterfly charm, remembering how beautiful his butterflies where when they exploded, the colors were gorgeous. He quickly paid the amount and walked out of the store. 'Now I have just enough time to get ready, and be at her house on time to pick her up.' Deidara nodded to himself and ran to his apartment. He didn't understand why but he was so determined that this date go perfectly, he'd never felt this way, and to be completely honest…he liked it.

_SADA'S HOUSE_

I shook my head confused with myself and sighed quietly. What was I supposed to do? I had a date...an actual date. I'd never been on a date before...this was going to suck. Not so much the date…just the fact that I might screw it up. There were several reasons why I thought this, let's review. I had no idea what to do, what to say or...oh no; I didn't have anything to _wear_. See why it would suck? I gasped in horror and ran out of my house after grabbing a good amount of money. 'Dang it, what am I going to wear?' I was going to have a panic attack, I didn't have anything to wear…I didn't know _what _to wear. 'What should I wear…what do girls wear on dates?' I looked around the streets and finally walked into a fancy shop. 'I need something...elegant...something beautiful.' I looked around for a moment before finally walking around the store, looking for an outfit of some sort. 'What should I buy? Maybe I shouldn't get something elegant and get something casual instead. No wait! Something fancy? Gosh I have no idea.' I looked around again and sighed. 'What do I do?' I groaned and resisted the temptation to bang my head against the wall.

"Are you alright?" asked a quiet voice. I turned around and saw Hinata standing there, looking at me curiously. She had on a nametag, so did she work here or something?

"Yeah I'm fine." I muttered.

"You don't sound fine." she observed. "What's wrong?" I shook my head and leaned against the wall in thought.

"Well...I have a date tonight." I said quietly. She nodded, not looking like she understood why I was so flustered, and I sighed. "The thing is...I don't know what to wear, and..."

"I understand." she said, smiling. "Come on, we'll look around together alright?" I nodded and walked around the store with Hinata, looking for kimonos. "What exactly are you looking for?" she asked, looking at me kindly.

"That's the thing, I have no idea." I said quietly, shrugging to myself. "I've never...been on a date before."

"Really?" she asked curiously. I nodded, and she smiled. "I'd have figured you'd been on tons of dates seeing as you're so pretty." I shrugged, not really thinking I was pretty anymore, and she smiled again.

"Not really, I guess I'm just weird or something." I mumbled.

"You're not weird at all, trust me." Hinata said with a smile. I licked my lips absentmindedly and shrugged again. "Here's something." she said, picking up a silver kimono. I looked down at it for a moment, wondering if it would look ok on me, and she handed it to me. "Go try it on, and come out so I can see."

I nodded in agreement, happy to have another girl's opinion, and walked into the dressing room. I quickly put on the kimono and stared at myself in the mirror. Was that actually me? I looked...beautiful, happy, different...how was he able to do that? Deidara, he'd made me...happy. How did he do it…when did I start being happy…why was it him that made me happy? Was there some secret conspiracy against me…ok, that one might not be true. I shook my head slightly confused and took off the head piece since it looked pretty stupid. 'I'm not wearing that, or this...or this' I took off the bulky belt part of the gown, and the bulkier material so it wasn't as big in size. I looked at myself again, making sure it didn't look too big since I was so small in size and finally came out of the dressing room.

"You look stunning." Hinata exclaimed. "Hold on, I'll go get you a more elegant belt." I nodded and looked at myself in the mirror again as she darted away to find my belt.

'Everything looks alright except I need-'

"Here's a belt, oh and I found some sandals too." I nodded in thanks and made sure the colors would match with my kimono. I put the belt on and the sandals, Hinata smiled approvingly. "There, like I said before, you look stunning."

"Arigato for all your help Hinata." I said quietly, happy that I'd had her to help me with my preparations for my first date..

"You're welcome." she said, smiling again.

I nodded in thanks, and she walked up to the register to check someone out. I changed out of my silverish kimono and paid for it at the front desk, Hinata checking me out. I walked down the street to my house and looked at what time it was. 'I have about an hour before he gets here.' I quickly took a shower, making sure to get all the paint off my body, and got dressed in my kimono after I'd finished up my shower. I fixed my hair the way I normally did, and put on the sandals Hinata had found for me. I put the necklace Haku had given me around my neck right when there was a knock at the door. 'He's here.'

**Author's Note: Eeeeeek! Sada's first date and with Deidara of all people. How exciting is this? Yay! As you can tell I stuffed a couple of chapter's together to make it a wee bit longer. I don't think you guys mind though =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER SEVENTEEN_

_I opened the door nervously and looked at Deidara standing there._

_"Hi yeah." he greeted._

_"Konnichiwa Deidara." I whispered, rubbing my arm nervously._

_"You look beautiful." he said smiling._

_I felt my cheeks heat up and looked down, embarrassed that he thought of me as beautiful._

_"Arigato." I said quietly. He nodded, still smiling a little, and handed me some purple carnation flowers._

_"These are for you. Yeah." Deidara said_


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Connection

I opened the door nervously and looked at Deidara standing there. He was wearing a red dress shirt and a pair of black pants. His loosened tie was black as well and his hair was pulled back the way he always wore it well…that I had seen at all. All in all, he looked very nice. I was glad I had bought something that would match with his outfit...and glad that it'd actually bought something fancy. It'd been a good thing that I'd had Hinata in that store to help me find something. Perhaps…there wasn't any reason for me to worry about tonight.

"Hi yeah." he greeted.

"Konnichiwa Deidara." I whispered, rubbing my arm nervously.

"You look beautiful." he said smiling.

I felt my cheeks heat up and looked down, embarrassed that he thought of me as beautiful. That was quite the compliment, and it meant alot to me to know that someone like Deidara thought of me as beautiful. I knew he was the type of guy that all the girls swooned over, I'd heard a bunch of them talking about him on my way home from shopping. To think that a guy that could get any girl he wanted, wanted quiet little _me_…well, that was pretty amazing. I still couldn't believe he thought I was beautiful.

"Arigato." I said quietly. He nodded, still smiling a little, and handed me some purple carnation flowers.

"These are for you. Yeah." Deidara said, I could hear the confidence slowly turning into nervousness, did I really make him _that _nervous? I nodded, loving how gorgeous the flowers were, and opened the door wider.

"Come in, I'll be just a second...make yourself at home."

He nodded, and I walked into the kitchen. I quickly filled a vase with water and put the flowers in there. I smiled a little, admiring how beautiful the flowers were. I finally forced myself to walk back into the living room, Deidara was looking around at my paintings. So…he must've been really bored, or he really was into art. He looked over at me and smiled, a smile that made my cheeks burn.

"These are amazing yeah." he told me. I blushed darker and looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Arigato." I mumbled, glancing up at him through my bangs.

"Come on, let's go yeah."

I nodded in agreement, and he opened the door for me. I walked out of the house and looked at him, wondering where we were going. He offered his hand to me, and I took it hesitantly. It was nice holding his hand….I'd never held a boy's hand before so it was a nice change. He led me down the street, not saying anything, and I stared at the ground feeling extremely nervous. What if I messed this up? This was my first date, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do on a first date. I'd never had any types of talks with a mother figure about dating or anything…was I supposed to cling to him or what? Or was I supposed to listen and him talk…or did I talk and he listen? Oh god, what if he never wanted to see me again after tonight if I messed this up? I mentally punched myself and tried to calm myself down. 'Ok, just breathe Sada, relax. You'll do just fine, there's no way that you'll screw this up.'

"We're here, yeah." Deidara said.

I looked up from staring at the ground and looked up at the fanciest restaurant in Konoha. I couldn't believe my eyes, I was quite lucky that I'd bought some nice clothes. Walking in a restaurant like that in shinobi outfits wouldn't have been very appealing, too many stares. I couldn't believe this though, this was a very expensive restaurant. I'd heard from listening to people that they had amazing food, and it was so difficult to get into. You had to have reservations for months ahead of time, how had Deidara managed to get into this restaurant? I looked over at him, slightly amazed, and he smiled.

"Are you sure this isn't a little much?" I asked hesitantly.

"Nope, not at all." Deidara insisted, smiling again.

I nodded, and he led me into the restaurant by the hand. He handed over our reservation tickets, and a waiter led us to the most beautiful part of the restaurant. There were so many gorgeous decorations and everything was just so breathtaking, I could even get away with staring out the window because there were all sorts of flowers outside. I looked across the table at Deidara, and he quickly scanned his menu. He nodded, looking like he was mentally assuring himself of something, and put it down. He looked up from the table, meeting my eyes, and smiled at me.

"So…how do you like the restaurant, hm?" he asked, he sounded a little worried. I looked away from his sparkling blue eyes and resisted the urge to smile, I really thought the restaurant was beautiful.

"It's beautiful Deidara, arigato...for bringing me here." I said quietly.

"I was happy to bring you here, yeah." he told me.

I nodded, and the waiter came to our table. I picked my menu up and looked through it, having no idea what I was even going to order. Everything was so expensive, and I didn't want Deidara to spend all his money on me. The prices were so ridiculous, I didn't even know how much money it would be just sitting in this place, let alone eating.

"Would you like to start off with some drinks?" the waiter finally asked, breaking the awkward silence at our table. I looked up at Deidara, and he took my menu from my hands. I looked at him slightly confused as he closed the menu, handing both to the waiter.

"Two hot teas, and two fresh garden salads to start off with. Afterwards we'd like some meso soup, kare raisu, tonkatsu, and sukiyaki." Deidara said in a smooth tone.

'Wow, he's amazing. I love all that food…I hope it's not too expensive though.'

"Coming right up." the waiter said, walking off.

"You do...like everything that I ordered I hope...yeah." Deidara said, sounding like he was losing his confidence again. I nodded in agreement, and he smiled a little. "Sada?" I stared at him curiously and he smiled. It was a little different from his normal smile, it seemed very…soft and genuine; I really liked it too. "Would you mind if...I sat by you, hm?" he asked, I nodded.

"I'd like that." I whispered, slightly embarrassed.

He smiled and moved around the table to sit in the seat next to me. 'I think I really do like Deidara...more than I ever thought was possible. I want to see him again after tonight...well...if I want to keep seeing him than I have to know more about him.'

"So...why did you come to the Village Hidden in the Leaves?" I asked, looking towards him.

'And the night has officially begun.'

"So...why did you come to the Leaf Village?" Sada asked, looking over at Deidara.

He sighed to himself, not liking that he was going to have to lie to her, and looked down. This was the thing that sucked about him being in the Akatsuki, he couldn't give out any real information about himself. He'd been hoping he could find out more about Sada before she started asking questions about him, but he'd screwed himself over by not saying anything to her first.

"My family." he replied, mentally punching himself afterwards.

Shit, he hadn't been thinking about what he'd said. He'd just basically told her the reason he'd left his home village. Well...then again….what did it matter? He liked Sada, he looked at her differently than he'd ever looked at any other girl, and that's when he realized…that she'd changed him. He hadn't known this girl for a week yet, and she'd managed to change him. He'd never wanted to be in an actual relationship, but ever since he'd met Sada...that was all he wanted. Sada was different than all the girls he'd ever been with, both physically and emotionally. He'd never met a girl like her, a girl that was beautiful on both the outside and the inside. He'd never met a girl that affected him this way, and he was starting to feel the way he had before his mom had died. Before his mom died, Deidara had been friends with all sorts of girls. He'd never thought about toying with their emotions or anything, his mom had taught him to respect women. After she'd left him though…he'd lost himself. Now, he was beginning to be himself again…the _real _him. He looked up into Sada's beautiful eyes and couldn't help but want to stare into them for hours. Sada was amazing, she had some weird affect on him that was bringing out the real him again. He wanted to spend every second of everyday with her...he didn't care anymore. He was going to be one hundred percent real with her tonight, no lying to her…except about the Akatsuki. He couldn't tell her that.

"What about your family?" she asked quietly. Deidara took in a deep breath, mentally preparing to tell her something he'd never told anyone, and slowly let it out.

"My Otou-san...he..."

Deidara stopped and buried his face in his hands. How could he tell her that his father had beat him as a kid? He'd never told anyone this, his mom had found out by chance and died because of it. He didn't think he could say it, what if she judged him? What if she called him weak? He couldn't stand to be called weak, or pathetic, useless…he shuddered remembering all the insults his father had thrown in his face everyday. He didn't think he could do it. He felt something brush against his hand, interrupting his unpleasant memories, and he looked up at Sada. She was staring at him sympathetically, and she took his hand. 'Lucky I remembered to wear gloves.'

"It's alright." she said quietly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but...I'm here if you do." She looked down, and Deidara smiled a little.

'Wow, this girl is amazing. I...want to tell her, I need to let go a little. I have to trust someone, and it feels like I can trust this girl.'

"My Otou-san..." She looked up hearing his voice, and Deidara sighed. "I was...abused."

He looked down self-consciously, hoping that she wouldn't judge him for that. He swallowed nervously, moving his eyes up to meet hers. He blinked in confusion seeing the sadness in her eyes, was she not judging him or something? She looked sad, like she felt sorry for him, but he could see something else in her eyes. It looked like, she was remembering something along those lines as well, like she'd been hurt by a family member. Was it possible that they were connecting?

"Gomen." she said quietly. "That must've been...awful." He nodded absentmindedly and sighed a little.

"My Oka-san, she was always away because of missions. I barely ever got to see her, but everytime she came home she'd spend every minute of her time with me, yeah. When Otou-san would try to hit me...she was always there to protect me un. She'd never let him hurt me when she was around...she always took my beatings...yeah."

He stopped for a moment and looked over at Sada, wondering what she was thinking. She was listening intently and squeezed his hand encouragingly. She smiled slightly, and he nodded.

"She died when I was about eight, I ran away at the age of thirteen. Staying in the village had been so hard, but she'd wanted me to finish school so I did it for her un. Otou-san never stopped, when she died…he blamed me. He's right of course, if I would've hid the bruises better…she'd still be alive." Sada shook her head, moving closer to him. He looked at her confused and she put her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"That's not your fault in the least Deidara." she whispered. "If your Oka-san loved you so much that she would protect you…she was willing to die for you. She cared about you, that's the reason she did it. Your Oka-san wouldn't want you to blame yourself, and I understand how you must miss her. You lost someone precious to you. It's hard to try to continue onward when you lose someone that you care about with all your heart."

Deidara nodded, wondering how she was so understanding about this. She hadn't judged him, she'd felt sympathy for him. He'd never received sympathy from anyone before, and it was nice. He smiled slightly, moving his arms around her, and buried his nose in her hair.

"Arigato Sada." he said quietly.

She nodded, still embracing him tightly. He swallowed, loving how right it felt to hold her, but made himself speak. He was curious as to why she knew as much as she did about being lonely.

"You seem to understand losing someone very well yeah." Deidara stated, looking down at her. "Did you..." He stopped seeing her eyes begin to water and mentally punched himself. He'd completely just ruined her night, he should've just been content with the silence. "Gomen yeah. I didn't meant to...hurt your feelings un."

"I know." she mumbled. "It's just...so hard sometimes. Especially when it seems like no one understands you...or what you're going through." Deidara nodded in agreement, remembering the feeling, and held her closer to him comfortingly. "My best friend." she whispered. Deidara looked down at her, and she sighed. "He'd been my best friend since I was five, and...he died trying to protect someone precious to him. I wish he wouldn't have done it...but he just wouldn't listen to me. I cared about him...so much...I wasn't even able to save him." Deidara nodded, feeling sorry for someone for the first time in his life, and she rubbed at her eyes. "Gomen, I shouldn't be crying."

"It's alright yeah." Deidara said softly. "You have a reason to be sad."

She nodded and rubbed at her eyes again. He hated seeing those tears of hers, her voice had sounded so broken when she'd been crying. He didn't understand how or why, but this girl was changing him. He smiled to himself and held her close to him. He was liking this change in him, he hadn't felt this way in years, and he wasn't willing to let this girl suffer the way he had for years; completely alone. He liked Sada, he liked her far too much, and did he care what Akatsuki had to say about it? Fuck no, this girl was his and no one was taking her away from him.

"My Oka-san died trying to protect me from my Otou-san un." Deidara told her, relating to her in the only way he knew how. Sada looked at him sadly, and he stared at the table. "I was so angry...angry that I couldn't save her...angry that I wasn't strong enough to take care of myself."

"I know the feeling." she said honestly. He sighed, still hugging her, and the waiter popped out of no where.

"Here's your drinks and salads. The rest of your meal will be here momentarily." he said, smiling at the embracing couple.

Sada looked at Deidara and smiled softly before lightly kissing his cheek and moving out of the hug. Deidara blinked in response to the gentle kiss and moved his eyes to his salad, he couldn't believe this girl had managed to make him blush. He'd never blushed before in his life, tonight was going to be the best night he'd ever experienced by far. He ate his salad slowly, trying to waste as much time as possible, he needed to think of something else to talk about. This subject was too depressing for the both of them, and he didn't want to see her cry again. It had torn him up to watch her cry, and he didn't want to hurt like that twice in one night.

"So...I'm guessing you like art hm." Deidara finally said, looking over at Sada. She nodded in agreement and set down her salad bowl.

"Do you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's my passion." Deidara said smiling.

"What sort of art are you mainly interested in?" she asked curiously.

"Sculptures, models, things along those lines, yeah." he answered.

"So you work with clay?" she guessed. He nodded, and she smiled slightly. "I'm not very good at working with clay, I'm mainly a painter and drawer."

"That abstract painting in your living room reminded me of fireworks, yeah." Deidara said, hoping that's what it was supposed to be.

"You could see them too?" she asked, sounding pleased. He nodded, and she smiled again. "That's what I was aiming for when I was painting it." Score, he was right.

"Really hm?" She nodded, and he smiled.

'Wow, this girl is absolutely amazing.' He'd wanted someone that understood what art was, that was deep, poetic...wait...what did she think of art?

"Sada?" Sada looked at Deidara, and he crossed his fingers under the table. "What do you think art is hm?" he asked. She smiled and looked down.

"That's a very...interesting question." she said, still smiling "I believe art is...a mere second of beauty."

Deidara looked at her slightly confused, no girl had ever shared his view on art before? He opened his mouth to ask her why she thought that when the waiter came back with the rest of their meal.

"Here you are, enjoy." he said, walking off again.

Deidara sighed, not liking the interruption, and ate his food without complaint, still thinking about what Sada had said about art. 'Wait a second...I still haven't gave her the bracelet.' He looked over at Sada who had already finished her meal and watched her stare out the window. 'She seems so distant...so sad...maybe I can make her happy tonight. I'm determined to. I don't want this girl to suffer anymore than she already has. I can tell through her eyes that she's been through alot, and I want her to be able to be happy again. I can't believe how little time I've spent with her and how much she's changed me, this is…unbelievable.'

"Sada." She looked at Deidara, and he smiled. "Would you mind going to the park with me, yeah?" he asked politely.

"Let's go." she replied. He nodded and after paying their bill, they head down the street towards the park.

I looked over at Deidara walking beside me and smiled to myself. He was such a nice guy, and he seemed like he understood what it was like to be alone. Of course Sasuke understood that, but something seemed different about Deidara. I didn't know what it was, but I loved spending time with him. I loved hearing his voice and just being able to see him made me so happy. I didn't understand why I felt this way about Deidara since I barely knew him, but it all seemed...right. Deidara looked over at me, and I blushed seeing him smile at me. Apparently he knew I'd been staring at him. I looked down feeling my cheeks go warm, and he gently took my hand. I looked up at him curiously, and he smiled softly.

"So...are you having a good time, yeah?" Deidara asked, sounding nervous about the question. I smiled slightly and nodded.

"Hai, it's been great." I said quietly. He nodded and laced his fingers through mine.

"I've had a good time too." he said, sounding sincere.

I smiled again and looked around the park. It was so pretty at night, especially with all the lights hitting the water coming from the fountain with the perfect amount of light. It just looked so magical, like a fairytale.

"So...where do you want to sit hm?" he asked, gently squeezing my hand as a sign of affection. I smiled a little at the gesture and looked around the park before I found my favorite bench. It was away from all the other benches, I was so anti-social at times.

"There." I whispered, pointing it out. Deidara smiled at me and led me over there. We sat down together and I stared down at the ground, feeling a little nervous.

"Sada. I…have something for you...yeah." Deidara said, grabbing my attention.

I looked over at him curiously, wondering what he wanted to give me. Tonight had been perfect, I'd finally found someone that I felt one hundred percent comfortable with. I'd been looking for that since I'd arrived in Konoha, that's what I'd been praying for since Haku died, I'd finally got my prayer. I felt one hundred percent comfortable being with Deidara, it all felt right to me. Even though he hadn't said it, I was sure that he felt the same way about me. There was no way tonight could get better...was there?

"Deidara...you don't have to give me anything else." I whispered, my cheeks feeling warm.

"Nande?" he asked, sounding confused. I felt my cheeks burn hotter and looked down towards the ground.

"Well...tonight's just been so perfect. I've had an amazing time with you...I don't need anything to make it better, because there's no way this night can get any better." I said quietly. He lifted my chin, and I smiled a little seeing his smile.

"I'm glad you feel that way Sada, I feel the same way un." he told me, I felt my smile widen. So he felt the same way about me then, this was amazing. "Demo…this will make my night better, yeah." he said, insisting on wanting to still give me something. "I _want_ you to have this...please."

I giggled quietly, blushing to myself seeing Deidara's smile widen, and finally nodded. I wanted Deidara's night to be as perfect as mine had been so I might as well just accept whatever he wanted to give me.

"Alright." I mumbled embarrassed.

He smiled and brought out a rectangular shaped box. I stared at it for a moment before he finally handed it to me. I looked at him and smiled slightly. His face looked so worried, he was afraid I wouldn't like it. I looked back at the box and slowly opened it. I gasped seeing the most beautiful charm bracelet in my life and looked at Deidara.

"Do you like it hm?" he asked, sounding nervous again. I nodded and smiled.

"Hai." I managed to whisper.

He smiled another sincere smile and took the bracelet out of the box. He gently took my hand and put the bracelet around my wrist. I stared down at it slightly amazed, it looked expensive, why had he spent so much money on me?

"Deidara?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" I looked at him and shook my head.

"Nande? Why'd you'd spend so much money on me?" I asked quietly.

"Because I like you yeah." he replied. "I like you more than you can possibly imagine." I smiled slightly, and he moved my bangs out of my eyes. "You're just...amazing yeah... perfect...deep...beautiful..." I felt my cheeks heat up at that compliment, and he smiled softly. "You are...beautiful." He gently took my face in his hands and moved closer. What was he doing exactly? He was so close now...so close to my face...it clicked. He was going to kiss me.

**Author's Note: Most of you will probably notice a little bit of the changes throughout the date. I wanted to make Deidara a little more in character as much as I could so...yeah. There you go. He he, and I left that awesome little cliffhanger again. Hope you guys aren't too mad about that. =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER EIGHTEEN_

_"Can I take you out for coffee un?"_

"We're too young to drink coffee." I giggled. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head in thought.

"Well we could go to a coffee shop and get tea instead yeah." Deidara said grinning. I smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'd like that." I said quietly.

"Then I'll see you around one o'clock ." Deidara suggested.

"Alright."

_He smiled again and took my face in his hands. He took a step closer and gently pressed his lips against mine._


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Interuption

"Come on guys!" Naruto yelled. "One more time!" The boys groaned and looked at the overly energetic blonde.

"Naruto, it's late, we're tired and we just want to go home." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Yeah, even Akamaru's worn out." Kiba stated, patting his dog on the head. The puppy gave a frail yip and plopped down on Kiba's head tiredly. "Can we just call it a night?"

"Yeah." the rest of the boys complained.

"Fine." Naruto said, slightly disappointed. "Let's just head home I guess."

"Or we could all go and get barbeque." Choji suggested. "I'm starving."

"That sounds good right about now." Shikamaru agreed.

"Then let's go!" Naruto said, sounding energetic again. Shino shook his head with a sigh and followed the group, listening to the sounds of the forest as they walked.

"Do you even know where this path leads to Naruto?" Shino finally asked.

"Nope, not a clue." Naruto said, grinning. Kiba shook his head annoyed and stopped. "Hey Kiba what's-" Naruto started.

"Shh!" Kiba said. "Akamaru's just smelt something. Which way boy?" The puppy yipped a couple of times, and Kiba went ahead of the group leading the way. "This way." They all followed Kiba down a different path, this one led to the park.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked. "Why are we going to the park?"

"Because Akamaru just smelt an extremely powerful shinobi." Kiba answered.

Shino glared behind his sunglasses, hadn't Kiba learnt his lesson from the last time they'd went to check something out they didn't know anything about? They'd almost gotten themselves killed by that red haired Sand shinobi during the second exam, couldn't Kiba keep his nose away from other people's business?

"And we're going towards it?" Choji asked terrified, snapping Shino out of his thoughts.

"Alright! Then let's-" Shikamaru put a hand over Naruto's mouth and shook his head annoyed at how loud the blonde was.

"Troublesome. Just shut up before we're heard." Naruto nodded, stating that he'd be quiet, and they finally made it out of the trees and into the park. Kiba stopped, and Naruto looked at him curiously.

"Nani?" he asked.

Kiba pointed over to one of the benches, and they all looked towards them curiously. Sada was sitting there with some blonde guy. It wasn't the fact that she was with some guy that bothered all the boys, it was the fact that their faces were getting closer by the second. They all knew how quiet Sada was, and her dating someone had never crossed their minds before. They'd all never thought that she would date…well this sure surprised them.

"HEY GET AWAY FROM SADA-CHAN YOU FREAK!!!!!!" Naruto screamed. Shikamaru shook his head annoyed and looked down.

"Troublesome." he muttered. "Now they've caught us."

"Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino...what are you all doing here?" Sada asked quietly, scooting away from the blonde.

"Now we're going to have to explain to her why we were spying. Great job Naruto." Kiba hissed at Naruto. Naruto smiled weakly, and Akamaru whimpered.

'Oh no.' Kiba thought 'This is that powerful shinobi...'

I continued to stare at the boys and finally looked at Deidara. He looked so angry right now...they'd just completely ruined his night..._our_ night. I looked back at the boys, and Akamaru hopped off Kiba's head into my lap. I sighed and stroked his soft fur.

"Well?" I asked finally. "Why are you all here?"

"No reason." Naruto said, shrugging a little. "Just taking a stroll." I shook my head, annoyed that he was lying to me, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Stop lying to me." I demanded softly. "What's going on?" None of them said anything, and it clicked; they were spying on me. "Were you spying on me?" I asked, shocked that they would do something so bold. None of them knew me, so they didn't have any right to spy on me.

"No." Shikamaru said. "We were just training and decided to walk through the park."

"Yeah just training." Kiba repeated.

"If you're going to lie to me then you better do better than that." I said quietly. "I can't believe you guys. Why would you do this?"

"We were training." Shino said. "We merely got side tracked." He looked towards Kiba and sighed while adjusting his glasses.

"Can't we just go and get barbeque?" Choji asked, not looking like he wanted to be there in the first place.

"No." I said on the verge of tears. "Tell me why you did this."

"Sada-chan that freak was trying to kiss you!" Naruto shouted, my jaw dropped.

What right did he have to say anything about who I went on dates with? He'd been listening to Sakura and was avoiding me in the first place. None of these guys knew a thing about me, I'd never talked to any of them so what right did they have to spy on me and call my 'kind of' boyfriend a freak? Wait…he'd called Deidara a freak. That must've really hurt him, especially with the insults his father through in his face back when he lived in the Rocks. Naruto was going to get it.

"Excuse me hm?" Deidara said loudly, standing up.

"Deidara." I whispered, feeling bad for him.

"I'm a freak?" he asked angrily. "I'm not the one who went and spied on one of my friends while they were out on a date yeah."

"At least we don't have chick hair." Kiba said with an amused tone. I narrowed my eyes, Deidara had beautiful hair; he was just jealous.

"You don't want to mess with me kid." Deidara spat angrily. "I have more shinobi experience than you can dream of un."

"That still doesn't make up for the fact that you have chick hair." Kiba said, smirking to himself.

"Just because I take good care of my hair doesn't mean it's chick hair!" Deidara yelled, seeming like he was growing frustrated with the Genin.

I looked down, trying to keep in all my anger, and continued to pet Akamaru. My first date with someone was turning out to be a disaster. I was about to cry I was so upset and angry, why could any of them just let me finish my date in peace; this sucked. Especially since I wanted that kiss.

"If you want to fight us then go for it." Naruto yelled. "We'll kick your ass, BELIEVE IT!"

"Stop it!" I shouted angrily. Everyone got quiet seeing as this was the first time they had ever heard me yell, and Akamaru hopped off my lap back towards Kiba. "Just shut up all of you." I covered my eyes, trying to control my tears, I wasn't going to cry infront of them; I refused to. I stood up angrily and looked at all of them, glaring a little. "You all have completely ruined my night. I was having a great time, and you all just ruined it." None of them said anything, and I continued. "This was the first time since I've been in this place that I was actually happy, and you just ruined everything. You all can never understand what I've been through, none of you. That's why I didn't choose you to talk to, I chose Deidara because he would understand. I know he would."

"Sada-chan, if you would just talk to us-" Naruto started.

"No Naruto." I interrupted, my voice rising in volume. "I can tell things about people by just looking at them, and none of you could understand. I am a very complex person, not many people can understand me, but I know when someone does. None of you have even been willing to talk to me since the preliminary matches because you think my techniques are evil. Well do you know what I have to say to about that? FUCK YOU! Leave me alone, never come near me again, and don't mess with my life." None of them said anything again, shocked that I'd said all the things I'd said, and I finally walked off angrily.

"Sada…matte!" they all yelled.

I ignored them and walked out of the park, in the direction of my house. I stopped in the middle of the street, my anger replaced with sadness, and covered my face. I felt my throat go dry, my eyes stinging, and coughed. Tears...tons of tears. God, why did I have to cry so much? I wiped at my tears for a few minutes and finally just gave up...I couldn't do this stuff anymore...I just couldn't. I felt someone gently grab my arm, and I looked back at Deidara.

"Love...are you ok hm?" he asked, not sounding very happy.

"No." I whispered. He put his arms around me, hugging me tightly, and I cried into his shoulder. Great...this night was just turning out to be horrible.

"It's alright. Calm down, I'm here." he whispered, running his fingers through my hair. I nodded, and he softly stroked my hair. "Come on...I'll walk you home un. " I nodded again, and he walked me to my house. We walked up the stairs and stood outside the door on my porch. "Well...here we are yeah."

"Yeah." I mumbled, rubbing my arm.

I hoped he didn't think I was a psycho because of my outburst at the park. I'd never gotten that angry before in my whole life, and I'd never yelled like that before either. It'd been completely different for me, and I didn't really enjoy yelling at people. I hoped Deidara would understand where all my frustration came from though. Deidara sighed, and I looked up at him.

"Sada...I'm sorry about earlier yeah." he apologized. Deidara looked at me, and I smiled slightly.

"It wasn't your fault, don't apologize." I asked of him. He nodded and sighed. "I'm sorry about the way I acted…I've never gotten like that before." Deidara nodded, rubbing my arm with his thumb.

"It's no problem love, I understand why'd you'd be angry like that. Stupid kids." he muttered. I giggled, and he smiled softly. "Could we...maybe...try this tomorrow?" he asked. "Can I take you out for coffee un?"

"We're too young to drink coffee." I giggled. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head in thought.

"Well we could go to a coffee shop and get tea instead yeah." Deidara said grinning. I smiled slightly and nodded.

"I'd like that." I said quietly.

"Then I'll see you around one o'clock ." Deidara suggested.

"Alright."

He smiled again and took my face in his hands. He took a step closer and gently pressed his lips against mine. This kiss was ten no a hundred times more amazing then Haku's had been. How was that even possible? I'd loved Haku...but Deidara? How could his kiss be more...what was I even thinking? I didn't understand one thing about love. I could tell though...just by the way our lips were moving together, that this was right. He pulled out of the kiss, looking straight into my eyes, and smiled a genuine smile.

"Bye yeah." Deidara said. I smiled slightly and softly kissed him.

"Bye Deidara-kun." He smiled at the nickname, and I smiled back at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah."

I nodded, and he softly pressed his lips against mine before walking down the steps of my house. I smiled and touched my lips before finally walking into my house. For the first time in ages I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning.

__

RESTRAUNT

"Ah!" Naruto groaned, tugging at his blonde hair. "What are we going to do guys?" Shikamaru sighed and shook his head.

"This is becoming way too troublesome for me to handle." he muttered to himself. All the boys were hanging out getting barbeque at the moment and the current, and only, topic they were discussing was Sada.

"She's going to get herself hurt by this guy!" Naruto said for the billionth time that night.

"Naruto." Kiba groaned. "We've heard you say that the last hundred times so will you just shut up about it?" Akamaru yipped agreeing with Kiba, and Naruto glared at him.

"Well I'm the only one that seems worried about this." he said, trying to lower his voice. Choji continued eating, trying to stay focused with the problem at hand, but it was so hard seeing as the barbeque was delicious.

"Naruto." Shino said with a sigh. "I think maybe we should let Sada do what she wants." All the boys looked towards the usually quiet Shino, and Kiba gave him a perplexed look.

"Shino, are you serious?" Kiba asked. "This guy's chakra is enormous."

"I know that." Shino said calmly. "Demo…we have no right to interfere with Sada's life." Kiba sighed, and Shikamaru nodded agreeing with him.

"It's troublesome, but he's right. She yelled at us, she doesn't want anything to do with us so we can't help her." He shook his head slightly and looked towards the quiet Naruto. He looked like he was thinking about what Sada had said to him, he seemed pretty ashamed with himself. "What do you think Choji?" Shikamaru asked, looking at his teammate.

"I think Shino's right." he said, stuffing more barbeque in his mouth.

'Well that's the end of this discussion.' Shikamaru thought, letting a sigh escape his lips.

"You're sure we can't do anything?" Naruto asked, they all nodded.

"It is _her_ boyfriend." Shikamaru pointed out lazily. Shino nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his drink, and said

"Yes…maybe giving her space is the best thing to do."

"Yeah but Shino, this is Sada we're talking about." Kiba said, remembering how Akamaru had been able to sense her loneliness.

"Yeah, she's always so sad." Naruto said with a tone of sadness. "Always so quiet, what if this guy hurts her?"

"Then we'll be there for her as friends when the time comes." Shino replied, Naruto looked at him dumbfounded.

"She yelled at us." Naruto stated, lowering his head. "Saying that none of us could understand her…I shouldn't have stopped talking to her after the preliminaries."

"Naruto…none of us tried talking to her." Kiba pointed out, sighing a little. "It's our fault too." They all nodded in agreement, knowing they couldn't do anything since they hadn't tried to get to know her, and Kiba said "But I think we should try talking to her…one more time." Akamaru yipped agreeing, and Shino shook his head at the thought. "But maybe if we let her know how dangerous he is then she'll understand why we're so worried."

"No." Shino said, shaking his head. "She wants nothing to do with us, she won't listen."

"Then…I don't know…" Kiba said sighing. Shikamaru nodded, not knowing what move to make, and shook his head again.

"This is such a drag." he mumbled. "We're out of ideas." The boys all nodded, not knowing what they could do without upsetting her. "I don't want to hear her yelling again, I get enough of that from my mom. Looks like we've lost."

"No way!" Naruto shouted, not wanting to accept defeat. "There has to be something-"

"There isn't." Shikamaru interrupted, Choji nodded agreeing; Shikamaru was always right after all. They all nodded, and Kiba sighed.

"This sucks." he complained.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed.

Shino finally stood up after a good ten minutes of silence and head out of the place without another word. Naruto wrinkled his nose before finally realizing something.

"Hey, get back here Shino! You haven't paid your bill!" Naruto screamed.

"It's because he didn't buy anything, he brought his own drink." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes. Kiba smirked at Naruto's stupid moment and crossed his arms amused.

"Baka."

__

ELSEWHERE

While these boys were having their own problems training wise or not, Sasuke was having a hard time with his training. Since Kakashi Hatake had discovered the young Uchiha was to fight the Sand shinobi Sabuka no Gaara in the final rounds of the Chunin Exams, he had decided Sasuke needed to learn a special technique, one of his own making. Sasuke took another deep breath and dropped to his knees; this training was harder than he thought it would be.

"Chidori is quite the difficult technique Sasuke." Kakashi said, looking up from his book "You mustn't push yourself too hard, accept your limitations." Sasuke glared at his sensei and pushed himself to his feet, not wanting to stop his training just yet. "We'll stop for today."

Sasuke's glare deepened, and he walked passed Kakashi with an angry expression on his face. He knew he could master this, he just needed more practice was all. Why wouldn't Kakashi just let him keep going? He sighed and deactivated his Sharingan. He knew he could do it, and he'd soon enough be able to beat Itachi with this technique.

He sat down and stared up at the night sky. He'd wished he'd been able to tell Sada where he'd went so she wouldn't be worried, but Kakashi had said they had to leave immediately so he hadn't been able to. It was weird that he cared about her so much, from the very beginning he'd had this strange attraction to her, something that he couldn't explain; it wasn't like him at all. Around all the other Genin from the Academy he acted like he didn't really care about anything, but around her…he couldn't stop himself from letting her see the real him; the part of him that he tried to keep hidden from everyone. It was just something he wasn't able to control, like…it was just weird. Why did he have to care about her so much? It wasn't like him at all, it really wasn't.

Sasuke sighed and tried clearing his thoughts of Sada, it wasn't working out too well. He scowled to himself and laid on his back, still staring at the night sky. He couldn't stop his thoughts from going back to the first day she'd entered their squad, she had seemed so uncomfortable standing there infront of Kakashi, staring at the ground. Then when she spoke, she had seemed even more uncomfortable, like she didn't think she was good enough to be talking to them. She was always avoiding everyone's eyes, not once had Sasuke seen her smile. After all the time they had spent together, not one smile or even laugh; she was so sad all the time. It was so unlike him to be so caring towards someone, but he couldn't help but want to understand her, to help her. She really was the first person outside of his clan that he'd ever cared about, and he wasn't about to let anyone hurt her.

"Sasuke." Sasuke looked towards Kakashi, and he said "Get some rest, we start when the sun rises." Sasuke nodded understanding and said emotionlessly

"Kakashi?" Kakashi looked at Sasuke curiously, and said

"Hai?"

"How do you think Naruto and Sada will do?" he asked, trying to make it seem like a casual question.

Kakashi didn't fall for it though, he knew Sasuke was worried about Sada's fight. He hoped that Sada would be able to help Sasuke forget about revenge, but he wouldn't count on it. That's the only thing Sasuke seemed focused on half the time, revenge on Itachi.

"I'm sure they'll both do fine." Kakashi answered, putting away his book "They're both very talented shinobi, don't worry about them Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded and sighed to himself. What was with him? Why did he have to be so worried about Sada? _This wasn't like him!_Sasuke chewed his lower lip in thought and absentmindedly began thinking of Sada again. Their first big mission as a four man squad, that was when he had first witnessed some of Sada's power. She was _extremely _powerful, especially when she fought Zabuza. To think she knew him as well as that other shinobi, what was his name again? He shook his head, and his thoughts changed to the first part if the Exams. She was so uncomfortable surrounded by all the other rookies, she acted as if she didn't belong with them. Second part, in the forest…he'd told her to be careful. Why had he told her that? He hadn't even been thinking about what he was saying, it just came out. When she didn't show up after that hour was up, he'd been so worried. That might have been the reason he got reckless and was bitten by Orochimaru. He'd gotten the curse mark because of that because he was too busy thinking about Sada to actually focus on the fight.

Sasuke turned on his side and closed his eyes, trying to sleep. He was so tired, he really needed rest. Tomorrow's training would be brutal. The last thoughts he remembered thinking were 'What do I feel towards her?'

**Author's Note: Grrr, stupid boys. Screwing up Sada's date. Gah, so annoying. Anyway, I'm sure a ton of you noticed some of the rewriting I did. Necessary of course, very necessary. I'm pretty sure you all liked it though, I did my very best =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER NINETEEN_

_I felt someone come up behind me while I grabbed pancake mix, and I looked over my shoulder at the red head._

_"Ohayou Gaara." I said sweetly. He nodded in response, I smiled at him._

_"You've changed." he stated, I smiled again._

_"How so?" I asked, wondering how observant he was._

_"You never smiled before." he replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're smiling."_


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Calamity

I looked at my reflection in my mirror, smiling a little to myself. I couldn't believe how amazing last night had been…besides that awful interruption by the boys. Deidara was such an amazing guy, and I liked him more than I ever thought possible. I couldn't believe he wanted to have another date with me after how badly last night had went…near the end that is. The boys had completely ruined the moment, it had been the perfect moment for a kiss, and I was still angry at them for ruining it. That kiss of his though, had been amazing. My head was spinning, and I'd felt so lightheaded after we'd parted; I was surprised I managed to keep my balance. His lips…I could still taste him, such an intoxicating taste. I was craving it again, I wanted another kiss from him…for the tenth time since I'd woken up this morning. I couldn't help it though, he was like…your favorite drink times a billion, to me at least. Or maybe candy…yeah, think of your favorite candy and multiply its yummy taste times one billion. Can someone say food orgasm?

I giggled to myself, thinking about Deidara, and quickly dressed in my daily outfit. I put the charm bracelet he'd given me around my wrist and smiled down at it. It was so beautiful, and I loved that he'd picked a butterfly charm. I loved butterflies, I just thought they were so graceful and beautiful. I'd have to make sure to add a few charms later on but until I did, his would be the only one on the bracelet. I smiled to myself, slowing running my brush through my long hair before I put Haku's necklace on. I looked at my reflection one more time before heading into the kitchen to get some breakfast. It was around ten thirty right now, so I had a couple of hours until Deidara would be here. I went through my refrigerator boredly, frowning when I realized that I was _extremely _low on food. I sighed a bit, grabbing the rest of the strawberries, and plopped down on the counter.

I munched on my strawberries in bliss, marveling at how yummy they tasted, and quickly filled a glass with milk. I chugged the milk, moaning at how good the food was. I was such a weirdo, I really was. I licked my lips, finishing up my strawberries and milk, before hopping down from the counter. I walked across the room to the drawer that I kept my money in and grabbed an envelope. The Hokage sent monthly envelopes to people like me, people that had no family. I was too busy too get a job at the moment, and the Hokage understood this. With the Chunin exams being so important an all, there was no way I could juggle a job and training. I looked through the envelope, making sure I would have enough money for grocery shopping, and head out of my house.

I walked down the streets of Konoha boredly, heading to the _only _grocery store. Gosh, was this village cheap or something? They could've at least had two grocery stores, did they? Of course not. I wrinkled my nose as I walked into the store, wondering what I should buy for this week. I shrugged in thought and walked a little further into the store. I went up and down the aisles boredly, grabbing a few things here and there. I let out a bored sigh, hating how boring shopping could be at times, and looked over hearing

"Why do we need that again?" Temari?

"It's good damn it." Kankuro.

The Sand team was shopping today too, how great was this? I looked towards them, smiling a little bit when I saw Gaara. We were getting a little closer as friends, at least I thought so. I didn't see him every time I went shopping, but we normally always ran into each other. Every time we _did_ run into each other, he'd leave his team to come talk to me. He'd always go around with me while I shopped, and a couple times he'd even helped me carry my groceries home. He'd never went inside my house, just left as soon as we got to my porch. I didn't know why though, but I didn't want to press my luck. I was letting Gaara get to know me at his pace, rather than my own. I giggled a bit, seeing him not looking very happy with the both of them, and walked in their direction. I needed to go this way anyway, the pancake mix was in this direction, and I wanted to have pancakes for dinner. Did you catch that? I wanted to eat pancakes for _dinner_, haha. I was so backwards.

"Kankuro you baka." Temari snapped, not looking the least bit amused by all the food he wanted to buy.

"You never want to cook though, we have to buy stuff that's easy to make." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Why you-" Temari started, they were blocking the way.

"Excuse me." I mumbled, squeezing passed them.

I heard their arguing stop, and their stares burning into my back; great. I felt someone come up behind me while I grabbed pancake mix, and I looked over my shoulder at the red head.

"Ohayou Gaara." I said sweetly. He nodded in response, I smiled at him.

"You've changed." he stated, I smiled again.

"How so?" I asked, wondering how observant he was.

"You never smiled before." he replied, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're smiling." I giggled in amusement, knowing he watched people alot, and nodded.

"Yeah, I feel happier." I admitted. He nodded, not looking like he understood why.

"You laughed." he pointed out, I didn't manage to suppress a giggle.

"I suppose I'm _alot _happier." I told him, he still looked confused.

"How?" he asked, sounding emotionless. I glanced at his team some distance away from us and nodded towards some of the aisles.

"Let's walk, I'll tell you." I promised.

He nodded, walking beside me as we went down the aisles. As I collected food, I watched Gaara's facial expressions. He didn't seem like he was doing all that well today, was his demon messing with him?

"Are you alright Gaara-kun?" I asked, hoping that he was alright. He looked at me, most likely wondering about the suffix I'd added to his name.

"Nani?" he asked, I smiled at him.

"Gaara-kun." I repeated, still smiling at him. He didn't seem to understand why I'd added a suffix to his name. "I consider you my friend, that's why I added the suffix." I explained, putting my stuff on the counter. The cashier began scanning the items, and I looked at Gaara. "You're important to me Gaara-kun, I wanted to show you I care about you. The suffix…it's a smaller way of expressing that you care about someone." He nodded, looking like he sort of understood what I was saying.

"Nani…" He stopped, I tilted my head to the side a bit.

"Hai?" I asked, hoping he'd continue. I handed over my money to the cashier, still watching Gaara, and grabbed a few of my bags. He took the remaining bags and walked out of the store with me. "What is it Gaara-kun? What're you thinking about?" He stared at the ground as we walked, I guessed he was trying to gather his thoughts.

"A hug." he said after a few minutes of silence. I looked at him confused, what was he trying to say? "Is a way…you show you care." I nodded, smiling at him.

"That's right." I said, proud that he remembered talking about that.

"What's…more ways?" he inquired, seeming interested.

I giggled, liking how he was asking these types of questions, and ignored the unhidden chakra following behind us. I was guessing it was Kankuro and Temari, why were they so curious at to what we were talking about? It really wasn't their business, but I wasn't going to tell them to go away. Gaara was my main focus, if they wanted to follow us, then so be it. I turned my attention to Gaara and said sweetly

"Smiling." He didn't seem to understand and before I had the chance to explain it, he said

"How?" I felt my eyes light up, he really _was_ interested in knowing how you show someone that you care about them.

"Happiness…is quite the complicated thing to understand." I said honestly. "When you're around someone and you're happy, smiling shows them that you enjoy their company. When people know that you enjoy being around them, they know that you care about them. Smiling is a more subtle way of showing people you care, it's not as powerful as a hug…but it still makes people feel good on the inside." Gaara nodded at this explanation, taking in all the information I'd told him.

"So you smile at me…" he started, after a few more minutes of silent walking; I waited. "You show you care for me?" I nodded, smiling again.

"Sometimes though, when you haven't been happy for a long time, it's hard to start smiling again." I admitted, remembering how I hadn't started smiling again until I'd met Deidara. Gaara nodded in agreement, letting me know that he really hadn't been happy in a long while. By this time, we were standing on my porch, Gaara still silent. "Gaara-kun, is something wrong?" He dropped the bags, grabbing his head; this couldn't have been good.

"Shut up." he mumbled. "No…not blood." I took a step back nervously, the demon was messing with him. "It was bad…I know it tasted awful. Wait…it'll be better next time."

"Gaara." I whispered, trying to snap him out of it. "Gaara, it's ok."

"Not now." he continued, still holding his head. "Not…her." I felt my eyes widen, feeling sand enclose around my ankle, I dropped the bags; this was bad.

"Gaara, please. It's ok." I told him, taking a step forward. I cringed, feeling the sand grip my ankle harder, but took another step towards him.

"She…cares…not her." he said, I felt my eyes soften.

The demon wanted him to kill me, but it was only because I was helping him overcome his loneliness. I couldn't believe he was trying to fight against it just to keep me alive. A small gasp of pain escaped my throat feeling my ankle snap, this wasn't good. He was losing against the demon.

"She…not…her…blood." he mumbled, I dropped to my knees on the porch.

"GAARA!" I heard two voices shout in unison. I could feel the sand sliding up my legs, this wasn't good. I moved forward as much as I could, gently grabbing Gaara's elbow.

"Gaara-kun." He moved his face out of his hand, his sea green eyes locking with my red ones. I licked my lips, waiting, I heard footsteps rushing down the street.

"Sada." he murmured, I nodded.

"I'm right here, I won't leave you." I promised, taking his hand. I felt the strong sand enclosing my legs, slip off harmlessly. My ankle was killing me, it had to be broken. This sucked, and a few weeks before the Chunin Exams of all times.

"Sada." he repeated, crouching next to me. "Gomen nasai." I nodded, grabbing my ankle in pain.

"It's fine Gaara-kun." I heard footsteps up the stairs and looked at Temari and Kankuro. They looked shocked that I was still alive.

"Are you ok?" Kankuro asked with a concerned tone, I nodded.

"Just my ankle, no biggie." I said quietly, smiling a little.

"We need to get you to the hospital then." Temari said, out of breath.

I nodded in agreement, turning my attention to Gaara. I lightly squeezed his hand, letting him know I was ok, and put my arms around him, hugging him. Both Temari and Kankuro looked confused that Gaara hugged me back, but they didn't say anything.

"Gomen Sada." he told me, I nodded.

"I told you it's fine." I said softly.

He held me for a moment before lifting me into his arms, sitting me on one of the steps. This must've looked rather weird to Temari and Kankuro, they hadn't seen this new side of Gaara before. The Gaara that was interested in why people care about each other, the Gaara that I saw. I could tell that Gaara felt responsible for my ankle being snapped, that's why he'd willingly touched me. Any other time, we didn't have any contact.

"Gaara, are you alright?" Temari asked, he glared at her.

"Sada is the one injured." he stated coldly, not looking happy with her. She flinched a little, not seeming like she understood why Gaara was acting concerned over _me _of all people, and Kankuro bent next to me.

"What did he crush?" he asked, I moved my gaze away from Gaara.

"My left ankle, it's not that bad." I lied, I yelped when he touched my ankle.

"It's broken." he stated, shaking his head. "We'll need to take you to the hospital for sure." I sighed, lowering my head.

"And with the Exams only a few weeks away, thank goodness for medical ninjutsu." I rejoiced, Kankuro smirked amused.

"Yeah, you're lucky." he said, scratching the back of his head. "Gaara's sand's pretty tough." I nodded in agreement, looking back to Gaara.

"Is it better yet?" I asked him, he nodded a little.

"Gaara maybe you should go back to the apartment, Kankuro and I will take her." Temari suggested, Gaara shook his head.

"I hurt her." he mumbled, not looking very happy with himself. I shook my head, smiling a little.

"Gaara-kun, it's not your fault. Your demon did it, not you." I told him, both Temari and Kankuro looked shocked that I knew about his demon…either that or the fact that I called him Gaara-kun.

"I'll take you." he said, moving away from Temari. I smiled a bit, and Kankuro said

"How about we all go, just incase Gaara." Gaara looked at him, not happy about what he was insinuating, Kankuro cringed back a little. "I'll carry her, it's a pretty long walk from here."

Gaara still didn't look happy, but he didn't protest. I guessed that he realized it still wasn't safe for him to be really close to me with his demon barely calming down. I watched both Temari and Gaara walked down the stairs, waiting for us. I took Kankuro's hand, put my other hand on the railing, and managed to pull myself to stand on one foot. I blushed a little when I wound up being a little too close to Kankuro, mentally cursing myself for losing my balance. I felt my blush darken seeing his smirk, and he moved me slightly back from him so he could move his hand under my knees. Before he got around to picking me up though, he whispered in my ear

"How about we go out to lunch after they get your ankle fixed up?" I felt my blush go even darker in embarrassment and heard a voice say

"Sada?" I looked over, surprised to see Deidara. This wasn't good...he looked angry.

'Kuso.'

**Author's Note: Haha, yeah. This chapter didn't exist last time. I did a ton of rewriting for it so I could build Gaara and Sada's friendship. I mean, it wasn't like they could autmomatically become friends right? I had to work my way up with it =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY_

_"I've been wanting to ask you something since we were at the hospital." Deidara said, grabbing my attention._

"Nani?" I asked curiously. He bit his lip and looked down into my eyes.

"Will you be my girlfriend hm?" I smiled and looked down at the floor.

"Hai." I answered. He smiled and lightly kissed the top of my head, it was finally official.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Commencement

I groaned a little, not liking how this was taking forever, and Deidara smiled at me. I giggled to myself when he took my hand in his, stroking the back of my hand with his fingers. When Deidara showed up, it had been a little bad. Firstly he got up in Kankuro's face, wondering, and I quote "What the hell do you think you're doing touching _my _girl?" He'd been a little pissed off until I explained that they three of them had helped me carry my groceries home, and I tripped going up the stairs. I told him I'd landed on my ankle wrong and snapped it, they were just getting ready to take me to the hospital. After that he'd calmed down, apologizing to Kankuro for snapping at him, and he carried me to the hospital with the three of them walking with us. He didn't seem to like Kankuro though, even though I'd said he was just helping me. Was he jealous or something?

"Are you almost done?" I asked quietly, hating that our date was being postponed. The medical shinobi nodded, saying

"Almost, it'll be another few minutes."

I groaned loudly, and Deidara chuckled next to me. I felt my cheeks go hot at him laughing at me and looked over at the Sand team. Temari didn't look like she wanted to be there, I guessed she was tired of waiting on my ankle to get fixed. Kankuro…he looked slightly terrified to be there, Deidara must've really intimidated him. Then Gaara, I felt awful seeing the look he was giving me. He still felt bad about my ankle, but he couldn't say anything infront of Deidara. I didn't want him to get upset with Gaara, plus, we couldn't tell him about Gaara's demon. The four of us had a secret, and we were going to keep it.

"Ano…you guys didn't have to stay." I mumbled, trying to break the awkward silence. Temari shrugged, and Kankuro put his hand behind his head.

"I was walking beside you, if I would've reacted sooner we could've saved your ankle." he said, cringing when Deidara looked at him. "It's my fault."

"You're not the one that's clumsy though." I said, rolling my eyes. Deidara chuckled at my sarcastic tone, moving my hand to his face, and gently pressed his lips against my knuckles. I felt my cheeks go warmer, and Temari said

"So…you guys are together then?" Deidara glanced at her before moving his gaze back to me, a smirk on his face. I felt my face go hotter and covered my face with my hand, since he was holding the other.

"Yeah." Deidara said simply, kissing my knuckles again. I blushed darker and mumbled

"Don't."

"Nande love?" he asked, a smirk still playing on his lips. I almost groaned realizing my face was getting even _hotter _and said quietly

"You're embarrassing me."

He laughed, rubbing my palm with his thumb. I heard a giggle come from Temari and a chuckle from Kankuro. I felt bad for Gaara, he had no clue what was going on. I had a feeling I'd be having to explain dating to him…wait…Deidara said we were together. Did he mean that…he wanted me to be his girlfriend? I blushed at the thought and heard the medical shinobi say

"All done, you'll have to postpone training for a day or two." I sighed, not liking that I had to stop training for a couple of days, and she smiled. "Your lucky, if you weren't in the Chunin exams I would've only healed it halfway." I cringed at the thought, smiling sweetly.

"Arigato." I said quietly. She nodded, exiting the room. I smiled, happy my ankle was fixed, and hopped up from the bed. "I can walk again." I rejoiced, Deidara chuckled. He pulled me close to him, kissing my cheek. I blushed a few different shades of red and heard him say

"Next time your walking up the stairs, hold onto the railing, yeah?" I scowled, un-amused, but nodded.

"Fine fine, bossy." He chuckled, running his fingers through my hair. "Deidara, can you let me go now? Please…I need to breathe." He chuckled, letting go of me but took my hand afterwards.

"I have to say, you guys look good together." Temari said grudgingly, I smiled.

"Arigato." I said sweetly, smiling again when Deidara squeezed my hand. We all walked out of the room together, heading out of the hospital. The whole time we'd been in there Gaara hadn't said a word, I needed to talk to him real quick.

"Arigato for taking care of her until I get here, un." Deidara was saying to Temari and Kankuro.

"No big deal." Kankuro said, _still _looking like he was intimidated by him. I slipped my hand out of Deidara's and said

"Gaara." He looked at me, everyone did. I looked at Deidara and said "I'll just be a minute, will you wait right here and play nice?" He chuckled, nodding before kissing my cheek.

"Fine love." I walked a little way away from them with Gaara and smiled at him.

"Don't blame yourself." I asked of him. "It wasn't your fault." He nodded, still not looking happy with himself. "Gaara-kun." He looked up from the ground, meeting my eyes. "What's wrong?"

"What…is he…to you?" he asked sounding confused, I smiled.

"He's my boyfriend." I told him. "When people care about each other…in a way that's not friendship…they date." He nodded, not looking like he understood. "It's like…there's an emotion you feel in your heart, I don't know how to explain it but you know when you care about someone like that. You don't need to think about it, you just know." He nodded, I thought he might've understood it a little better. "They're someone that will care for you and make you happy, all the time." He nodded again, I think he got it. "How about we talk tonight? I'll meet you on one of the roofs." He nodded in agreement, and I lightly touched his shoulder. "Please…stop blaming yourself."

"I need to go." he said emotionlessly, looking at the ground. "It's back." I nodded, understanding what he meant, and said

"You go on, I'll tell Temari and Kankuro for you. I'll see you tonight." He nodded and walked in some direction. I went back to Deidara, who was still talking with Temari and Kankuro, and said

"It's back." Deidara rolled his eyes, thinking I just screwed up my language, but I knew they understood what I was saying.

"We'll see you later Sada." Temari said, I nodded.

"Feel better." Kankuro told me, they walked off without a reply. I looked up at Deidara, smiling sheepishly.

"Nani love?" he asked, I pouted.

"I ruined our tea date." He chuckled, kissing my forehead.

"As long as your better, that's all that matters un." he whispered, pulling me into a hug. I snuggled into his embrace, happy that everything hadn't seemed suspicious. "Who were those kids though?" I giggled and said

"They're from the Village Hidden in the Sand, they're in the Chunin Exams with me. We're…friends." Deidara looked at me, not looking like he was buying the friends thing. "Well, the red head is, Gaara. The other two…they're just getting used to me." He nodded, I couldn't tell what emotion was in his eye. It wasn't jealously, it was something else…guilt maybe?

"Uh huh…do you still want to go get tea hm?" he asked, changing the subject.

I nodded, smiling slightly. He chuckled, wrapping his arm around my waist and we walked down the street, heading towards the coffee shop. We finally made it into the coffee shop and ordered some tea. 'I don't know what it is I feel towards Deidara, but it feels stronger than what I had felt towards Haku. Could I...love him? No...I can't...I loved Haku. But if what I feel for Deidara is stronger than what I felt towards Haku then maybe...I didn't love Haku. I don't know, but I love spending time with him. He's so amazing, and I feel like he's perfect for me. Just everything about him screams that he's for me.' I took a sip of my tea, I'd figure all of this out sooner or later. Until I did, I wanted to find out more about Deidara.

"What rank are you?" I asked randomly. He smiled, seeming happy that the silence was over, and moved his bangs out of his eyes.

"Hmmm? Are you sure you want to know un?" he asked with a teasing tone. I nodded eagerly, and he grinned. "I'm a Jounin." My jaw dropped, and I stared at him slightly amazed. That was so impressive…and he was only sixteen. Damn.

"Wow." I whispered.

"Surprised hm?" he asked curiously.

"Just a bit." I said quietly. "How are you such a high rank?" He smiled and shrugged to himself.

"I was the prodigy of my clan yeah." he said like it was no big deal, taking another sip of his tea. I nodded to myself and stared down into my cup.

'Woah...he's a prodigy...this makes me feel so inferior to him. He's just so perfect at everything.'

"So who are you fighting in the final rounds of the Chunin Exams hm?" Deidara asked, smiling at me.

"Some guy from the Sound." I answered, not very interested in Dosu. I'd kicked his ass once before, I'd do it again. He nodded and brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

"Would I be allowed to help you with your training hm?" he asked hopefully. I nodded, and he smiled.

"How about tomorrow?" I suggested. He thought for a second and sighed, shaking his head to himself.

"Can't un. I have work." he groaned. I sighed and shrugged absentmindedly. "What about Thursday?" he asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Ok." I whispered with a nod. I watched him put his elbow on the table and lean his cheek against his hand.

"I never found out what village you're from yeah." he stated, I lowered my eyes nervously.

"Oh." I whispered, I needed to tell him. I didn't want to keep secrets from Deidara since I liked him so much, and I wanted to be able to let him into my heart. I wanted to feel like I could trust him, I _needed _to tell him. "The Village Hidden in the Dark." I looked over at him sitting next to me, and he stared at me curiously.

"Aren't they an absolute monarchy, hm?" he inquired. I nodded, slightly surprised to meet someone who knew about my village, and he tilted his head to the side slightly. "Demo..." He stopped and I looked at him curiously, wondering what he'd been planning on saying.

"Hai?" I said, hoping he'd continue.

"They don't allow people out of the village anymore yeah." Deidara told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"It's some new law that the king put into affect yeah." Deidara said. "No outsiders are welcome, and none of the citizens are allowed out except Anbu and Onin."

I looked at Deidara and finally looked down, trying to gather my thoughts. They had actually put a law like that into affect? I couldn't believe my parents, they were becoming more power hungry than ever before. Trying to keep the citizens from leaving the village. So if only Anbu and Onin were allowed out of the village then that meant that none of the Genin could go to other villages to take the Chunin Exams. So my father must have set up a Chunin Exam in our village. Why hadn't I heard of this new law? Well...know really did know about my village so I shouldn't have been surprised I hadn't heard about it until now...but when had it happened?

"When was this been put into affect?" I asked curiously, finally looking up at Deidara. He tilted his head to the side and glanced up at the ceiling, trying to think.

"I'd say about eight years ago un." Deidara finally said after a minute.

I bit my lip and shook my head to myself. They'd put this new law into affect after I'd left the village. Either they were mad about losing me...or they didn't want me to be able come back.

"So I'm wondering something." I looked at him and nodded, wondering what he was going to ask me. "How did you move here if that village doesn't let people out of it hm?" I sighed and shook my head not wanting to lie to him, but I wasn't able to tell him the full truth.

"I can't tell you the whole story." I said sadly.

"Nande?" he asked, sounding confused.

"It's not that I don't trust you." I told him, looking up into his eyes. "It's just that...I'm not ready." He nodded, and I took his hand. "I promise that I'll tell you the whole story eventually."

"Alright love." he said, smiling a little. I smiled slightly and sighed.

"Well the way I got here was..." I stopped and looked at Deidara. He smiled encouragingly, and I took a breath. "I...ran away."

"Nande hm?" he asked.

"Parents." I replied. He nodded, and I put my head in my hands. "They just...didn't understand me. The way I was I mean." He nodded and sighed.

"And you ran away because of persecution un?" he inquired; I nodded.

"Yeah, that's mainly it. A bunch of Anbu went chasing after me, but I escaped from them. I don't know how I managed to, but I did." I reminisced, rubbing my temples. Deidara nodded again, and I took a drink of my tea. "So why did you come to Konoha?" I asked. "You could've gone anywhere, but you chose to come here."

"I heard Konoha was very welcoming to outsiders yeah." Deidara said. "I spent most of my time after I left my village trying to find this one yeah." I nodded, and he smirked. "It took a pretty long time walking yeah."

I giggled in amusement, staring into his beautiful blue eye. I really liked him, so much. He was so perfect for me, and I loved spending time with him. It seemed like we'd bonded in the few days we'd known each other. I felt my cheek go hot realizing I was _still _staring into his eyes and he chuckled, pulling me into a sideways hug. I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder, happy to have him holding me. It felt so right.

"I've been wanting to ask you something since we were at the hospital." Deidara said, grabbing my attention.

"Nani?" I asked curiously. He bit his lip and looked down into my eyes.

"Will you be my girlfriend hm?" I smiled and looked down at the floor.

"Hai." I answered. He smiled and lightly kissed the top of my head, it was finally official.

_**A FEW WEEKS LATER; KONOHA STREETS**_

Deidara sighed and continued walking down the street. He was going over to see Sada at the moment and was debating on whether or not to show her his art. He'd been dating her for about two weeks, and it was the best time of his life. He'd actually become himself again, rather than hiding behind a while. He hadn't been like this in a good number of years, he couldn't believe that affect she'd had on him. Sada was just so perfect that he couldn't get her off his mind. He was constantly thinking about her where ever he went. He'd helped her with her training for the Chunin Exams, and she was so talented. She was definitely a Chunin level...maybe even higher than that. She could be the level of an S-Ranked Criminal for all he knew. Speaking of S-Ranked Criminals, he only had a week left in the village. He had eventually gathered enough information on the kid that carried the nine-tails, but he was so distraught about leaving Sada. He didn't know what he was going to do. He only had a week left with her, and it wasn't even that much. It would take Deidara a maximum of five days to get back to the headquarters and a minimum of three. He wouldn't be able to use his birds so that meant that he had only four days left with Sada.

He cared about her so much, and the closer he had gotten to her, the more he came to realize that he cared about her more than he cared about himself. He'd never valued a girl's life over his own, but now he did. Sada was the only girl that had managed to break him, the only girl that had managed to see the true him, he'd become himself again thanks to her. He always wanted to be with her, and when he returned to headquarters he wasn't going to be allowed to return most likely. He couldn't wait for weeks or months or years; he cared about her far too much. He wasn't supposed to get involved with anyone this way, but he had anyway and found his soul mate. What was Sasori going to say about him if he came back talking about her? He'd never fail to harass Deidara. Deidara still felt like he couldn't leave Sada, maybe he could somehow convince Pein to allow her in the organization. He'd have to come up with some plan soon, the end of the month was closing in fast. He'd just gotten so close to her that he didn't want to let her go...he couldn't. He was...in love with her.

He opened the door of Sada's house and walked inside. She actually trusted him enough to give him a key, he didn't know what he was going to do without her. She had really opened up to him in the two weeks that they had been dating. She was still sort of quiet, but he was able to make her smile and even laugh at times. Most of her laughs though were quiet giggles, but he made her happy so that was all that mattered to him. She actually talked more than she used to, and she joked around with him a bunch. She was a really funny girl, but she was still as shy as ever when they weren't alone. She just didn't seem all that used to people, she was so quiet around them all. Yet, when she was with Deidara, she was always smiling. Maybe...he had a positive affect on her life. He loved her...maybe...she loved him.

"Sada-chan, love." he said, walking further into the house.

"Deidara-kun."

He looked over and smiled seeing her standing in a doorway. Her clothes were covered in paint again, she looked so beautiful. He loved seeing her covered in paint all the time, she just always looked so angelic.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Hm? Well I wanted to visit my girlfriend for one." Deidara said with a smirk. Sada smiled and ran down the hallway, jumping into his arms. "I've missed you love."

"I missed you too." she whispered. He smiled and placed his chin on top of her head, still holding her close to him.

"Sada-chan, I have something I want to show you." he told her. She pulled back from the hug and looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I can't exactly tell you yeah." he said, smirking in amusement.

"And why not?" she asked, giggling.

"Because it's something you have to see and experience." he stated.

"Is it one of those once in a lifetime chances?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Well, maybe not once in a lifetime for you yeah." Deidara said. Sada smiled again, and Deidara took her hand. "So will you come with me un?" he asked. She nodded and laced her fingers through his. He smiled at her and led her out of the house.

"So where exactly are we heading to?" Sada inquired, looking at Deidara. He stared into her beautiful eyes for a long minute and finally smiled sincerely at her.

"The forest yeah." he answered.

"Why the forest?" she asked curiously.

"Like I said before can't tell you un." he said, smirking again.

"You can at least tell me why you chose the forest." Sada said with a smile "Please Dei." She hugged his arm, and he grinned.

"Alright fine." he said, sighing. She giggled, and he rolled his eyes at her playfully. "The forest is far away enough from the village yeah. What I'm going to show you is something that...non-artists wouldn't understand, yeah."

"So this is something to do with your art?" she asked excitedly. Deidara nodded and grinned.

"Excited hm?" he asked.

"Hai, I've been wanting you to show me your art for ages. Now I finally get to see it, I'm so excited." she said, smiling.

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. She smiled up at him, and he shook his head amused. This girl was just so perfect. They walked into the park and took a path that led into the forest. By this time it was around eleven, they were out passed curfew...oh well though. Breaking the rules was fun, Sada even agreed to that.

"Alright love, this is the place yeah." Deidara said looking down at Sada. She smiled and looked up at him.

"Come on. Show me." she begged.

"Alright alright." Deidara said teasingly. "You're so bossy un."

"Only about art." she whispered, he chuckled amused.

"Good thing too, art's a blast." he said, chuckling again.

She nodded in agreement, not realizing the pun he was implying. Sada smiled slightly feeling Deidara hug her from behind and giggled to herself when he rubbed his cheek against hers. Deidara lightly kissed the top of her head and took her hands. He covered her eyes with her own hands, and she giggled.

"Deidara-kun stop." she giggled, happy that she was spending so much time with someone as amazing as him.

"Keep your hands there." he instructed.

"Nande?" she asked curiously.

"I want this to be a surprise yeah." Sada nodded and kept her hands over her eyes, wondering what Deidara was planning on showing her.

**Author's Note: Grrr, I'm so sorry I didn't notice that weird ass mistake sooner guys. I'm lame =/**

_OLD PREVIEW_

_"Sada-chan?" Deidara poked my cheek again, and I turned over so I was staring up at him. _

_"Hm?" I looked at him, and he smiled at me again._

_"Are you ok love?" he asked. "You've been awfully quiet yeah." I shrugged and sighed._

_"Don't be worried over that." I whispered. "I'm always quiet."_

_"You're usually not as quiet when you're with me un." Deidara stated. "What's wrong hm?"_


	22. Chapter Twenty One: Artistry

"Ok love, open your eyes yeah." Deidara whispered next to my ear. I smiled, happy that I was finally able to know what was going on, and opened my eyes.

"Wow." I whispered.

Right infront of us, was the hugest clay bird that I had ever seen in my entire life. How was he able to do that? Then again, Deidara was an amazing artist. He probably did a jutsu to increase his speed so he could make the bird faster. Or he made a tiny bird and expanded it somehow. I didn't know, but it was awesome. I couldn't believe when he'd said he was interested in sculptures and models, that he could do something as amazing as this. He was a true artist, no doubt.

"Like it hm?" he asked from behind me. I looked back at him and nodded, still amazed at his work.

"It's amazing Deidara-kun." I whispered to him. He smiled, and I looked back at the bird.

'No wonder Deidara took me out here. No one that wasn't an artist could understand how beautiful this is, how amazing it is.'

"This is your art." I mumbled to myself.

"Yeah." Deidara said, apparently hearing me talking to myself. "I've been sculpting creations like these since I was a child yeah. Oka-san loved them...she always said they were beautiful."

"It's because it is beautiful Deidara. This is the most amazing thing I've seen in my entire life." I stated, smiling back at him. He grinned mischievously, and I looked at him slightly confused. "Nani?"

"You haven't even seen the best part yeah." Deidara said, still grinning. I was even more confused, wasn't this the best part?

"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Deidara walked passed me, still grinning, and hopped onto the bird. He looked back at me and extended his hand.

"Come on." I looked at it hesitantly and finally at his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see un." he said with a smirk. Again I looked at him confused, what was he planning? "Trust me yeah." I looked up at his face and finally took his hand. He pulled me up onto the bird and we sat down together.

"Ok, now what's going on?" He grinned again and pulled me into his arms. "Deidara-kun, what are you planning?" I asked quietly. He chuckled to himself and pulled back slightly to look at my face.

"Close your eyes un." he said softly.

"Nande?" I asked.

"You'll see." I nodded, trusting him more than I'd ever trusted any one else in the world, and slowly closed my eyes. I snuggled close to Deidara, and he rubbed his cheek against the top of my head. "No peaking un." I giggled, the way he said that was just so cute. I nodded in agreement, promising not to look until he said. He chuckled again, and after a few seconds of silence he said "Open your eyes." I opened my eyes and looked over at Deidara.

"What was that about exactly?" I asked curiously. He chuckled slightly amused and said

"Look down at the ground Sada-chan." I looked at him confused and finally looked over the edge of the bird...we were floating?

"What'd you do? What's going on?" I asked confused. Deidara chuckled again and held up his hand into a handsign. He closed his eyes and everything was still for a moment until...

_WHOOSH_

Flying...we were...flying? How was that even humanly possible? There was no way that we could be flying right now? Was there? People stayed on the ground, birds were in the sky…huh? How were we flying? I looked around and shook my head, seeing the clouds closer than they were seconds ago. We really were flying, this was so amazing and beautiful. I looked over at Deidara, and he smiled."Like it hm?" he asked.

I nodded and looked around again; I wasn't dreaming. The bird made a sudden turn, and I latched onto Deidara's arm in surprise. Well that sure had been a shocker but so exhilarating at the same time.

"You ok love?" he asked, rubbing my arm with his thumb.

"It...surprised me." I whispered in slight shock. He chuckled and held me close to him.

"I'm happy I was able to share this with you yeah." he said softly. "Not many people would understand the beauty of this."

"It is beautiful." I whispered. "You can fly whenever you want. And using your skills to make this bird...it's all just so amazing." He smiled and rubbed his cheek against the top of my head.

"You're amazing." he said quietly. I felt my cheeks heat up, loving receiving that compliment from him, and he chuckled to himself. "You are un. Just the way you understand how this is art...I never thought I'd find someone that understands how magnificent this is yeah."

I smiled to myself and looked around trying to find where the moon had hidden itself. I smiled to myself when I found the moon and snuggled closer to Deidara. This was so amazing, I couldn't even begin to think of anything that could top how awesome of an experience flying was. As we flew around, I watched as everything seemed to pass by on fast forward. By the time we finally landed, it was a little passed three...flying was quite exciting after all.

"Deidara that was the most artistic thing I've ever seen. Arigato for showing me." Deidara chuckled quietly, and we hopped off the bird together.

"That wasn't supposed to be the artistic part yeah." Deidara said, sounding one hundred percent honest. I looked at him curiously and finally smiled.

"Then what was?" I asked, smiling. He grinned and pulled me backwards a few feet, holding me in his arms. "Nani?"

"Watch un." I nodded, and he made a handsign. I looked at him for a few moments and finally at the bird. What was he going to do now? "Katsu!" The bird exploded, and I gasped. That…was…amazing. I stared at the empty place where the bird had just exploded, and Deidara chuckled. "Art is a blast." I looked over at him, a blank expression on my face, and he smiled at me. "What'd you think hm?" I looked back at the empty space and finally smiled.

"Pure art. Absolute genius!" I shouted happily, that had been so flippin cool. Deidara laughed, and I giggled. "Teach me how to do that. I want to be able to make things explode as well as that. It was pure genius!" Deidara laughed again and hugged me.

"You are the most amazing girl in the world yeah." he shouted happily. I smiled, and he ruffled my hair. I pouted playfully, not liking that he'd messed my hair up, and tried fixing it. "I wish I could teach you love, but I can't."

"Nande?" I asked. "Matte, it's a kekkei genkai isn't it?" He nodded in agreement, and I sighed disappointed. "Oh well."

"It's fine love." Deidara said, smiling a bit. "I could teach you how to focus your concentration well enough, but I can't actually teach you how to make things explode yeah. You have to figure that one out on your own." I wrinkled my nose and Deidara smiled, hugging me again. I looked at him straight in the eyes and giggled when he rubbed his nose against mine. "You're amazing un." I smiled slightly and closed my eyes feeling his soft lips against mine. I hadn't known what I had felt towards Deidara two weeks ago, but now I knew; I.........

"Hey you kids! You're out past curfew!"

'Kuso.'

_HOURS LATER_

I sighed and looked up at Deidara. He smiled softly and poked my cheek, trying to make me smile. I turned over slightly to where I was staring at the wall. Deidara sighed and softly stroked my hair. We were at the Hokage's building right now, and I was so tired. I'd already resorted to using Deidara as my own pillow. I had my head in his lap at the moment, and he was just sitting there holding me; at least he didn't mind. We were in 'severe' trouble for being out passed curfew. We'd been sitting here on this bench for hours, but the Jounin guy wouldn't let us leave. He was still standing across the room watching us. He'd said "You kids are in serious trouble when the Hokage finds out about this." The stupid fool, the Hokage wouldn't get _that_ mad over us being out passed curfew. It was already close to sunrise, yes, we had been stuck here for hours. I guess time flies by when you're sitting on a bench, _not_.

"Sada-chan?" Deidara poked my cheek again, and I turned over so I was staring up at him.

"Hm?" I looked at him, and he smiled at me again.

"Are you ok love?" he asked. "You've been awfully quiet yeah." I shrugged and sighed.

"Don't be worried over that." I whispered. "I'm always quiet."

"You're usually not as quiet when you're with me un." Deidara stated. "What's wrong hm?"

I sighed again and looked passed his head at the ceiling. It was a stupid reason why I wasn't talking, but I wasn't going to lie to him about it. I didn't want to ever lie to him, I wanted to be truthful to him. In a way, it felt like I couldn't make myself lie to him about anything. I guess we had become really close in these two weeks that we'd be dating, how crazy was this?

"What if the Hokage does get mad at us?" I asked worried. Deidara smiled slightly and shook his head, amused that I was worried over something so trivial.

"So you're worried about us getting in trouble un?" he inquired. I nodded in confirmation, and he chuckled to himself. "We won't...well. I doubt he would punish you since you're in the Chunin Exams yeah. I might get some punishment, but it wouldn't be bad, yeah."

"Demo…I don't want you to get in trouble at all." I said quietly. He smiled and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand.

"It'll all be fine love." he assured.

I smiled slightly and took his other hand in mine. Deidara always wore gloves for some reason, everytime I saw him he was wearing his fingerless gloves. Maybe he liked gloves alot, and that's the reason he always wore them. I had no idea really, it was a little interesting. I'd wondered about this tons of times, but I never asked him about it. I mean who goes up to their boyfriend and says "Why do you always wear gloves?" The correct answer is no one, why was I even wondering about something like this? It was so...unimportant. I was too observant for my own good sometimes. I sighed, and he leaned down over my face.

"Nani hm?" I giggled slightly at his bangs tickling my face and shrugged again.

"Bored." I mumbled. He smiled and rubbed his nose against mine. I giggled again, happy that I had such a wonderful boyfriend, and he smiled slightly. "Sada-chan?" I looked at him curiously, and he stared right into my eyes. "Would it be alright if I..." He stopped, and I stared up at him.

"Nani?" I asked, wondering what he wanted to say. I sat up and moved over so I was sitting on his lap. "What is it?" He smiled slightly and took my face in his hands.

"Can I..." he asked.

I looked at him slightly confused for a moment before it finally clicked; he wanted to kiss me. The thing with mine and Deidara's relationship was that I always was slightly uncomfortable in the company of other people. Deidara knows this, and being the absolutely amazing guy that he is, he always asks me if he can kiss me before he does. I never did mind getting hugs from him in public or holding his hand or him kissing my cheek or whatever, but actually _kissing_ infront of other people made me _really_ uncomfortable. I looked at Deidara and nodded a yes. He smiled and gently pressed his lips against mine. I put one of my arms around his neck but pulled away from the kiss hearing a cough. I looked over and blushed seeing that Jounin staring at the both of us with a smirk. I hid my face in Deidara's shirt, and he chuckled softly.

"Don't pay attention to him love." I nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed, and heard some doors open. I didn't bother to look up and listened while Deidara continued to hold me.

"I found the both of them out in the forest around three last night, Hokage-sama." the Jounin guy said."And how long have you kept them here Riku?" the Hokage asked, not sounding very interested.

"Since around...four or so." the Jounin named Riku said.

"So you've kept them here for about three hours?" the Hokage asked. "My my my, you are horrible when it comes to punishment."

"Demo Hokage-sama-" Riku started.

"No." the Hokage interrupted. I heard footsteps across the floor and finally looked up to see who was coming, the Hokage of course. I glanced up at Deidara, and he smiled softly. "Konnichiwa Sada, Deidara."

"Hey." Deidara said boredly.

"Hi." I whispered.

"What were you both doing out passed curfew?" the Hokage asked. I didn't say anything and looked at Deidara. He sighed and said

"Well sir here's what happened yeah. I work at an Art store, and it closed late last night. After that I had to do inventory since the actual owner won't be returning until next month. I didn't finish until about three un. So I walked to Sada's house because I left the key to my apartment there, yeah. She gave me my key and mentioned how she forgot one of her...what was it love? One of your..."

"Sais." I said quietly.

"Oh right, that's what it was yeah." Deidara lied. "So I didn't want her walking in the forest by herself so late so I went with her un. We started looking around, but we couldn't find it. So we decided to go back and search for it today yeah. Then this weirdo came and told us we were out passed curfew and in huge trouble, yeah." The Hokage looked at Riku and finally chuckled.

"Didn't you tell him this story?" the Hokage asked amused.

"Well I didn't get the chance un. He wouldn't let us explain anything." Deidara said, slightly annoyed. I nodded agreeing, and the Hokage chuckled.

"How's your training for the Chunin Exams coming Sada?" he asked randomly. I smiled slightly and said

"It's been going good. That's the reason I went looking for my sais. I was going to use them for my battle." The Hokage nodded and looked at Riku.

"Do you still think they need to be punished?" he asked. Riku shook his head, and the Hokage nodded. "I thought the same." He looked back at the both of us and said "Go back to your houses, and get some rest. I look forward to seeing your match Sada." We both stood up and bowed slightly.

"Arigato Hokage-sama." I whispered.

He chuckled, and we walked out of the building towards my house. We were so good at getting away with stuff, Deidara was a natural born liar, but I could tell by his eyes the entire time that he was. I was good at reading him, better than most people were. I couldn't believe the Hokage believed that story.

"Sada-chan?" I looked over at Deidara, and he smiled sincerely. "Do you want to train today hm?" I nodded and squeezed his hand.

"I'd like that." I said honestly, I really _did_ need to train.

I hadn't trained for…two days or so. I needed to get back into the rhythm. Deidara smiled and moved his bangs aside slightly. I giggled, feeling his lips press against my cheek, and poked his stomach. He chuckled, moving his hand out of mine, and placed his arm around my waist.

"You're so amazing Sada-chan." he told me. I felt my cheeks go warm at the compliment and wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

"Arigato Dei-kun." He smiled down at me and lightly pressed his lips against the top my head. He chuckled when I snuggled closer to him and held me to him, showing me how much he cared me.

"Get some rest love." he whispered next to my ear. I nodded in agreement and smiled slightly. I looked at my house, wishing I didn't have to leave Deidara, but knew that we both _had _to get some rest. "Meet me at the training grounds around 1:45, yeah?" I nodded again and kissed his cheek.

"Ok Deidara, I'll see you later." I said quietly.

He nodded and hugged me tightly again. I giggled when he nuzzled his head against mine and pulled back slightly. He stared deep into my eyes before gently pressing his lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss, knowing he didn't ask because there was no one around, and placed my arm around his neck, cupping his cheek with my hand. Just the way he was kissing me, he was being so gentle with me. He was always so careful, making sure not to upset me, and that was one of the things I adored about him. He was so amazing. I almost pouted when he pulled out of the kiss and he leaned his forehead against mine, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Bye love." I nodded, and he kissed my cheek again before moving out of the hug.

"Bye Dei." I sighed happily as I watched him walked down the street and head inside my house to get some rest.

**Author's Note: Damn it and the old one was fucked up too, grrr. I'm sorry I never noticed guys....=/**

_OLD PREVIEW_

_I pair of hands went over my eyes, and I smiled slightly hearing _

_"Boo yeah." I giggled and took Deidara's hands off my eyes. I looked back at him, and he chuckled. "Hey love." I smiled, happy that he was here, and he smirked at me. "You're here early, yeah."_

_"I could say the same thing about you." I said cutely._


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Importance

I turned over on my side tiredly, mentally groaning hearing a knock at my door. No one besides Deidara knew where I lived so why was someone knocking at my door? I groaned, pulling the covers off myself and head down the hallway tiredly. I sighed to myself and almost gasped realizing something. I'd given Gaara the address to my house, something must've been wrong. I bolted the rest of the way down the hallway, skid to a stop infront of the door, and jerked the door open. I'd been right, there stood Gaara. I tilted my head to the side curiously, he didn't look upset, but then again…he never did. He always looked emotionless, but something _had _to be wrong. We'd been steadily talking to each other more and more, I had a feeling he was beginning to consider me a real friend. If I saw him on the street, he'd stop to talk to me…after yelling at Temari and Kankuro to leave. Sometimes at night, if I felt like I couldn't sleep, I'd go roof hopping for a little while. I normally came across him when I did this, but when I would see him I'd sit next to him, and we'd talk. We hadn't trained together though, he'd told me he didn't want his demon to go out of control again and hurt me. I understood that, and I was thankful that he was beginning to learn how to care about another person. He'd never come to my house though, so I knew something had to be wrong.

I looked at Gaara curiously and said

"Gaara…is something wrong?" He took a shaky breath, and I opened the door a little further. "Oh Gaara, please. Come in." He nodded and took a step into my house. I closed the door behind him and said "Come on, we'll go to my living room."

He nodded again, and I led him to my living room. I watched him take the gourd off his back and place it on the floor, next to the couch. He took a seat on the couch and I sat next to him, leaving some space since he didn't like physical contact too much. I waited for a minute, silence. I let out a quiet sigh, knowing that he wasn't really good at sharing his feelings, and said softly

"Gaara-kun, what's wrong?" He looked at me, his same emotionless gaze, and said

"It won't shut up." I nodded, knowing he was talking about his demon, and scooted a little closer to him.

"I know you're more powerful than it Gaara-kun, you can beat it." I told him, he put his head in his hand, not seeming like he agreed with me.

"Blood." he mumbled, I shook my head.

"You don't need to kill Gaara-kun." I said quietly, he looked up from his hand at me. "That's not your purpose."

"Purpose." he repeated. By the look in his eyes, I knew that he understood what I was talking about it. "It's always been my purpose." I shook my head, he _couldn't_ start taking steps back, that wouldn't have turned out good for either of us.

"No." I disagreed, he looked at me with a cold look. "Gaara-kun, killing is not your purpose."

"What is then?" he asked after a moment of silence, I blinked.

It wasn't that I didn't want to tell him what his purpose was, it was that I _couldn't_ tell him his purpose because I didn't know it. Everyone discovered their purpose in life on their own, but everyone had the same smaller purposes. Like being there for your friends when they needed you, protecting those you care about, etc.

"Gaara-kun…your main purpose is something you have to figure out on your own." I told him honestly, he nodded.

He didn't look very happy that I couldn't tell him his purpose in life, but I wasn't going to let that demon of his pull him away from me. We'd made major progress in him, and I wasn't willing to throw it all away. I was going to tell him the minor purposes a person has in life, perhaps that would help him figure out his main purpose.

"Demo…you have other purposes than just your main one though." I said, hoping his demon hadn't started whispering to him again. He looked slightly interested in what I was saying, I was happy I was able to help him this way. "Everyone has these, including you Gaara-kun." He nodded, looking like he wanted to know what I was thinking. "You have a purpose to be there for your friends when they need you." He lowered his eyes, thinking about what I'd just said. I gave him time to think, not saying anything else, before he looked back up at me.

"You're…my friend." he said, hesitating a little. I felt a smile come to my lips, and I nodded in agreement.

"Hai Gaara-kun, I'm your friend."

"When…are you there for them?" he asked, my smile widened.

"When they're hurting." I stated. "People hurt two ways, physically and emotionally. When they're physically hurt, you stay with them and help them feel better."

"When I broke your ankle." he said, before I could say anything else. I nodded in agreement, hoping he still didn't blame himself for that.

"Hai, when you were in the room with me…it showed me that you cared about me. You were there for me." I said, he nodded. "It made me happy."

"What's the…emotional way?" he asked after a minute, hesitating when he said emotional.

"When people get hurt emotionally, it hurts on the inside." I told him, my hand moved over my heart. "In here."

He looked at me hesitantly, I knew he understood what it felt like to hurt emotionally, but I guessed he didn't know where it came from. I removed my hand and slowly reached down, touching his hand. No sand came up stopping me so I took his hand and placed it over his heart. He gave me a blank stare, blinking. I guessed I'd have to do a bit of talking about it.

"Can you feel your heart?" I asked, he nodded. "In here, it hurts. The hurt comes from here…but you can't live without your heart."

He nodded again and I took my hand off his, watching him hold his hand over his heart. He seemed fascinated by it, fascinated that the place that made you hurt so badly, was so small. I didn't want to make it seem like it was a bad place though so I said

"Demo…" He looked away from his hand over his heart, locking eyes with me. "That's the place that can make you happy, where you feel love."

He blinked, moving his hand to his head slowly. I mentally cursed myself, realizing that his uncle had been the first person to explain love to him, his uncle had betrayed him. I needed to let Gaara know I wouldn't betray him like that, but how? I moved my hand up to his hand on his head, entwining my fingers with his. He looked at me confused as I moved closer to him, placing his hand over my heart.

"Do you feel it?" I asked, he nodded. "You're here Gaara, you have a special place in my heart. A place just for you that no one can replace." He didn't seem to understand what I was saying, I felt rather bad for him. I didn't mind explaining it though, I was happy to be helping him. "You're special to me…precious in fact."

"Nande?" he asked, not understanding.

"We're friends Gaara-kun." I told him. "I care about you, and I'm never going to leave you alone." He nodded a little, seeming like he understood what I was saying. "When you're friends with someone, your hearts connect, and you trust each other." He nodded a little bit, it looked like he was beginning to understand everything a little better than before.

"I…" He stopped, and I gave him a curious look. What was he thinking?

"Hai Gaara-kun?" I asked, our eyes locked.

"I…trust you…Sada."

I felt a smile come to my lips and put my arms around Gaara, hugging him tightly. His arms slowly went around me, the hug seeming a little less awkward than it used to. I was so proud that I'd gained his trust like I had. Now, there was nothing that could stop me from helping him overcome his loneliness. This demon of his was going down.

_HOURS LATER_

After talking with Gaara, I walked over into the seventh training area to meet Deidara for my training for the day. I was happy that I'd been able to clear some more things up for him, that I'd managed to get him to understand hearts and emotions a little better. He was rather important to me, and I was glad that we'd become friends. I couldn't believe that at the beginning of the exams, he hadn't know about anything to do with love or caring about someone. Now though, he was so much more informed. He understood a little better, but not completely. We'd have to do some more talking, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed Gaara's company just like I enjoyed Sasuke's. They were my friends, and I cared for them. I sat down in the grass and closed my eyes to meditate, seeing as it was so calming. I pair of hands went over my eyes, and I smiled slightly hearing

"Boo yeah." I giggled and took Deidara's hands off my eyes. I looked back at him, and he chuckled. "Hey love." I smiled, happy that he was here, and he smirked at me. "You're here early, yeah."

"I could say the same thing about you." I said cutely.

He chuckled again and sat down behind me. I smiled to myself and moved backwards a little to where he could hold me. He put his arms around my waist, and I leaned my head back against his shoulder. He smiled down at me, and I giggled.

"Nani hm?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing." I replied, drawing the word out.

"Come on, tell me un. I wanna know." he whined, sounding too cute for words to describe. I giggled again and smiled, slightly amused with him.

"Oh it's nothing." I sang, wanting to tease him a little longer. He wrinkled his nose, and I smiled slightly. He was starting to get irritated with me teasing him like this, but it was always fun to see him get all impatient.

"Tell me Sada-chan un." Deidara asked of me.

"Hm." I pondered. "I don't know if I should."

"Please un." he begged. I glanced up at him, and he stared at me with a face a knew I couldn't refuse. "Please." I sighed quietly and looked over at nothing imparticular, but I giggled feeling him rub his cheek against mine. "Please love." I smiled and looked back at him. His eyes were pleading with me to tell him, gosh, this was so much fun. I didn't think I'd ever had so much fun teasing someone in my whole life.

"Alright." I sighed in defeat, his face lit up with a smirk. I waited for a moment, feeling my cheeks go warm, and finally said "It's just that...you're so cute." He laughed in amusement, and I looked down embarrassed with myself.

"So that's you're big secret hm?" he teased, still chuckling. I nodded, still feeling embarrassed, and he kissed the top of my head. "You're adorable yeah." I felt my cheeks heat up and looked down at the ground. Deidara chuckled and kissed my cheek. I smiled at him, and he hopped to his feet. "Come on love. Let's train, yeah?" I nodded and stood up. I looked at him, and he yawned, apparently he was still a little tired.

"Are you still tired Deidara-kun?" I asked, wondering if he'd gotten enough sleep.

"Just a little un." Deidara replied, yawning again.

"Did you get any sleep?" I asked confused.

"Not really. I mainly just stayed in my bed staring at the ceiling yeah." Deidara answered.

"Nande?" I was so confused, why had he done that? He smirked and pulled me into his arms. I looked at him curiously, and he smiled softly.

"Because I was too busy thinking about the most beautiful girl in my life to sleep yeah." Deidara said gently. I felt my cheeks heat up, and he smiled softly. "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met Sada-chan...I can't ever get you out of my head yeah." I looked down embarrassed, and he chuckled. "You're the only thing that's ever on my mind anymore, you're the only thing I care about anymore...I always want to be near you yeah." I looked up at him and smiled slightly, feeling his lips against mine.

"Did you get any sleep?" Sada asked confused.

"Not really. I mainly just stayed in my bed staring at the ceiling yeah." Deidara replied honestly.

"Nande?" she said. He smirked and pulled her into his arms. Sada looked at Deidara curiously, and he smiled softly.

"Because I was too busy thinking about the most beautiful girl in my life to sleep yeah." Deidara said gently. He smiled seeing her face turn red. "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met Sada...I can't ever get you out of my head yeah." Sada looked down embarrassed, and Deidara chuckled slightly amused. "You're the only thing that's ever on my mind anymore, you're the only thing I care about anymore...I always want to be near you yeah."

Sada looked up at Deidara, her cheeks a pale pink color, and smiled slightly feeling his lips against hers. Deidara smiled feeling her arm go around his neck, and he carefully slid his arm around her waist. He took his other hand and ran his fingers through her beautiful hair. She was just so perfect to him, the only person he would die to protect. He didn't know what he would do when he had to leave.

_Deidara_

Deidara gasped and pulled back from the kiss. Was that just Pein's voice?

Deidara Yep that was Pein.

"Deidara-kun?" Sada whispered

"Gomen love. Sudden headache, hold on yeah."

He held his head and plopped on the ground. Sada sat beside him looking concerned, and Deidara looked down at the ground holding his head. Why did Pein want to talk to him now of all times? He'd just interrupted the most amazing kiss.

_Deidara answer me now!_

**_What is it leader-sama, hm? _**

_How is your mission going? Have you gathered all necessary information?_

**_I'm almost done, yeah. I just need a little more information on the kid, then I can return. _**

_Excellent. Itachi and Kisame will be pleased to know you've acquired the information they require for their mission._

**_Tell them I will be leaving two days after today, yeah. This kid never sits still un. _**

_Of course, we'll be waiting for you when you return. _

"Are you alright Deidara-kun?" Sada asked quietly. Deidara smiled, not liking how Pein had interrupted their intimate moment, and nodded.

"I'm fine love. No need to be so worried yeah." he said softly. She nodded, looking unsure, and snuggled into his arms.

"Maybe you should just head home." Sada said quietly. "I don't want you out here if you're not feeling well." Deidara chuckled to himself in amusement and softly kissed her forehead.

"I'm fine love. Trust me, yeah?" She sighed, not seeming like she agreed, but nodded nonetheless. "Arigato, for being concerned un." Deidara said, looking straight into her eyes. She smiled slightly and quickly kissed his cheek.

'I'm so lucky to have the most amazing girlfriend. I can't imagine my life without her anymore. To think I never thought I'd find someone like her, someone that I actually wanted to be with. This is phenomenal.'

"So do you want to start, or just sit here?" Sada asked, giggling quietly. Deidara chuckled at her and placed his chin on top of her head.

"You know what I want un." Deidara whispered mischievously. Sada's face turned a bright red color, and she hid her face in his shirt. He chuckled again, loving how little he had to do to get her to blush, and buried his nose in her hair. "But you have to train for your exams so we have to do that yeah." Deidara shook his head amused with her and helped her to her feet. "Go on love, the first hit's free yeah." Sada smiled and did some backflips for distance. If only she knew what Deidara's real attacks were, she would want to have distance.

**_Author's Note: As I said before, friendship with Sada and Gaara needs to build so you all might not recognize this scene since I just added it. Haha! Uhh...no clue where that came from, but anywho. I hope you're liking the story. See patience is a good thing, the lovey dovey stuff is so worth the wait. =]_**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY THREE_

_I stared at Deidara slightly shocked for a moment and finally looked at the ground. He...loved me? How could he love me? I wasn't that amazing...heck I wasn't amazing period. I was just some girl with a weird kekkei genkai…that he didn't know a thing about. I looked back at Deidara, and he was staring at me waiting for some reaction. I closed my eyes and thought for moment. Deidara said he loved me...I understood that much. I also understood that I loved him...but I didn't want him to get hurt by me. Everyone that was always involved with me in some way or another always got themselves hurt. Haku had loved me…and he was dead. I didn't want to have to give Deidara up though, I didn't feel like I could. I knew I should...but now that I deeply thought about it, Deidara did understand me. He understood everything about me, and he had helped me without even realizing it. He accepted me for who I was, and I knew I could trust him with everything. I wanted to be with him...and I wanted to stay with him forever. I really did love him._


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: Compassion

I did some back flips for distance and looked at Deidara standing across the field. He smiled slightly, trying to encourage me, and I sighed to myself. I was still refusing to use my kekkei genkai. I didn't want him to think I was...weird. I closed my eyes for a moment trying to think of a quick strategy. Deidara had already promised me the first hit, and he never went back on his promises so I knew I was safe...until I attacked that is. I took a breath and finally did some handsigns. 'Reign of Darkness jutsu.'

This jutsu allowed me to cover anything I wanted in darkness, I had originally called it Engulfing the World in Darkness but that name was just too long. It was a huge advantage to those of us that were from the Village Hidden in the Dark. Since we could only do our darkness jutsu by closing our eyes we had a major disadvantage because if someone tried to attack us, then we didn't know until after it happened. Well of course most of us listened when we were doing our jutsu, but if you're in the middle of a huge battle you can't exactly hear just the person your fighting...you hear everything. So I was using this jutsu to cover the entire training field we were on in darkness. It would also make it so I wouldn't have to close my eyes to do jutsu, I could actually keep my eyes open. How cool was that? This jutsu would also stay in effect as long as I wanted it to, or as long as I remained conscious. Hopefully Deidara wouldn't try to knock me out.

I completed the last handsign and opened my eyes watching my darkness begin to slowly cover the entire field. I looked over at Deidara for a moment and finally closed my eyes. 'Night Vision.' I opened my eyes and looked around. It was all there, I could see everything in the darkness, thank god I had finally figured out the Night Vision jutsu. I looked at Deidara and watched him. He was looking around trying to find me, maybe it wouldn't hurt to use my kekkei genkai...no I wasn't going to use it. I didn't need it to win. I wasn't ever using it again. I ran towards him and kicked him in the side. He staggered a little and regained his posture about a second later. 'I'm going to lose...as usual.' He punched at me, and I ducked. I moved around him and tried kicking at him again. He grabbed my leg and threw me across the field. 'How did he know? Lucky guess.' I hopped up and dodged the kunai the came flying at me. I pivoted on my heel hearing a noise behind me and felt a fist connect with my nose. I grabbed my nose and jumped backwards a few feet. 'How? How can he know?' I felt something slice my arm and dodged some shuriken. 'Matte...my... _chakra. He sees my chakra._' I felt something make contact with my back, and I hit a tree really hard. I dropped to the ground and landed face first in the grass. 'That hurt.' I tried pushing myself up but dropped back to the ground clutching my shoulder. 'Itai, I think I pulled a muscle.' I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and finally pushed myself up. I felt a fist make contact with my cheek, and I jumped backwards a few yards. 'I can do this...focus.' Ignoring the pain in my shoulder I made some quick handsigns and smirked. 'Spheres of Darkness.'

Sphere of Darkness wasn't that complicated of a jutsu. What it did was it allowed me to capture my enemies chakra and seal it inside a sphere made of darkness. It was also able to allow me to release the chakra whenever I wished, or I could put my palm again the sphere and absorb the chakra to do my more complicated types of jutsus. Right now though I was going to do something completely different with the sphere of darkness. I found Deidara's explosions quite fascinating, and I'd been wanting to use some types of explosions in the final rounds since I'd seen the bird explode last night. So right now, I was going to use my spheres of darkness and made a lovely explosions. I figured that chakra could be quite the unstable thing, so if I focused hard enough…I could make an explosions. I watched a good number of spheres spread out, and I looked around for Deidara. 'He's going to freak when he sees this...I mean...hears this.' I made a handsign and focused my chakra. 'Katsu.'

_MANY MANY HOURS LATER; SADA'S ROOM_

Deidara groaned loudly and opened his eyes to see Sada hovering over him.

"Deidara-kun." she whispered, looking concerned.

"Hey love." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He sat up and looked over at Sada, who was now sitting beside him. Why did she look so worried, and why the hell did his head hurt so much?

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sounding worried.

He didn't answer immediately and looked around. They weren't on the training grounds anymore, they were in a room that he didn't recognize. It was a dark blue color and had black splatters all over the walls. There were countless numbers of paintings in there along with a stereo and a dresser. Where was he?

"Where are we un?" he asked confused. Sada smiled slightly and said

"You're in my room." He looked at her curiously, and she lightly touched his head. "How are you feeling?" she asked again.

"Functionable." he replied. She giggled slightly, and he smiled before falling back on the bed. He wrinkled his nose at the pain in his head and looked at the violet haired girl. "What happened un?" Sada looked down and sighed.

"Well...when we were battling...I kind of..." She stopped, and he looked at her confused.

"Go on love." he encouraged. She looked up into his eyes and kissed his forehead.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to...yeah." she mumbled, not knowing what to say. Deidara smiled over the 'yeah' and touched her cheek.

"Sada-chan, just tell me what happened. I won't be angry yeah." Deidara promised. She nodded and bit her lower lip, still looking nervous.

"Well...I made an explosion." she told him. "And...it was kind of powerful. You were sort of...knocked into a tree and hit your head pretty hard." Deidara looked at Sada for a moment with a blank expression and finally grinned.

"You're awesome yeah." he exclaimed. "Forget awesome, you're a bang." She giggled, liking the pun, and Deidara shook his head amused. "I taught you explosions...that's so sweet yeah."

"Well you said that I had to focus my concentration really well, and I found a way to make things explode." Sada smiled, ignoring the fact that she couldn't really control how powerful the explosions were, and Deidara chuckled.

"Wow, you're amazing yeah." Deidara said with a grin.

"Are you sure your head's alright?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, letting her know he was fine, and touched the back of his head. It hurt a bit, but it wasn't something that hurt like the firey pits of hell. He'd endured much worse being in the Akatsuki, even being part of the Anbu corps had caused worse injuries than this. Besides, he didn't need to worry Sada anymore than she already was, he cared about her too much to want her to worry about him. Deidara looked at Sada and touched her cheek again.

"How long have we been here hm?" he asked, hoping it'd only been a few hours.

"You've been out for about a day actually." Sada replied.

Deidara bit his lip, mentally cursing, and looked over at the clock on her dresser. A day, that's all he had left to spend with Sada..a day. Well...maybe a day and a half since it was about six at night. He had the rest of today and tomorrow to spend with her. He had to tell her how he felt towards her...he had to. He wanted her to know how much he cared about her, before he left.

"Sada-chan un." Deidara whispered. Sada looked at him, and he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I need to tell you something...yeah." Sada nodded, and he sat up again. She looked at him with a curious expression, and he lightly kissed her lips before looking straight into her eyes.

"Deidara-kun...what is it?" she asked quietly, wondering what was on his mind.

"Sada-chan...you are amazing to me. Everything you do, the way you talk, how you act, your cute giggles, your artisticness, talent, how understanding you are...everything about you is just perfect. I always want to be near you, you're always on mind yeah. You drive me crazy." Sada looked at Deidara confused, not understanding why he was saying all the things that he was, and he continued to stare straight into her eyes. "Sada...I love you."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I stared at Deidara slightly shocked for a moment and finally looked at the ground. He...loved me? How could he love me? I wasn't that amazing...heck I wasn't amazing _period_. I was just some girl with a weird kekkei genkai…that he didn't know a thing about. I looked back at Deidara, and he was staring at me waiting for some reaction. I closed my eyes and thought for moment. Deidara said he loved me...I understood that much. I also understood that I loved him...but I didn't want him to get hurt by me. Everyone that was always involved with me in some way or another always got themselves hurt. Haku had loved me…and he was dead. I didn't want to have to give Deidara up though, I didn't feel like I could. I knew I should...but now that I deeply thought about it, Deidara _did_ understand me. He understood everything about me, and he had helped me without even realizing it. He accepted me for who I was, and I knew I could trust him with everything. I wanted to be with him...and I wanted to stay with him forever. I really did _love_ him. I opened my eyes and stared right into Deidara's.

"I don't understand." I whispered. He looked at me confused and opened his mouth to say something. I covered his mouth, knowing that I had to explain what I was talking about, and shook my head. "I understood what you said...but I don't understand how you can feel that way...about me of all people. There's so many girls better than me…better for you…I don't deserve you." Deidara shook his head, taking my hand away from his mouth, and laced his fingers through mine.

"It's because you're amazing. You understand everything the way I do, yeah. I could tell you anything, and I know you'd understand...yeah. There's no girl in the world, that could replace you un. I've never felt this way about anyone." Deidara said softly. I want to be with you always and forever." I smiled sadly and stroked his cheek softly.

"Nande? Why'd you have to fall in love with me?" I asked quietly, I didn't want everything to turn out the way it had with Haku.

"It's destiny yeah." Deidara whispered. I felt tears of happiness roll down my cheeks and looked away from him.

"I don't want to hurt you...but I can't help but want to be with you." I whispered. "You're..." I stopped, my words caught in my throat, and looked over into his eyes. He smiled slightly and pulled me into his arms, softly stroked my hair.

"I'm not leaving you yeah." he promised. I glanced up at him through my tears, and he kissed the top of my head. "I'll always be here when you need me un. I wouldn't trade you for anything, yeah." I smiled slightly and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"You're my angel." I said quietly. "He sent you to me." Deidara looked down at me, most likely not understanding who I was talking about, and I smiled again. "You really are my miracle, I love you. I really do love you Deidara." He smiled, looking happy that I felt the same way about him, and kissed the top of my head again.

"I love you too yeah." he said gently. "I didn't ever think I could love someone in fifty years as much as I love you in these past two weeks, yeah. I know that the only thing that can happen now is..." I looked at him, knowing what he wanted to say, and smiled.

"Our love can only grow." I finished.

"I never thought I'd say this, but what I feel for you is eternal…yeah." Deidara said. "I never thought anything could be eternal...until now that is."

I nodded in agreement, and he nuzzled his head against mine. I giggled, and he smiled softly. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and brought his face closer to mine. I smiled slightly and closed my eyes feeling his lips against my own. I put my arm around his neck and softly stroked his cheek. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I smiled slightly but pulled back feeling his tongue lick at my bottom lip. He looked at me slightly disappointed and shook his head.

"Gomen love." I nodded and snuggled close to him.

"It's alright...I just don't want to rush things...ok?" I whispered. He nodded, looking like he understood, and put his cheek on top of my head.

"I love you yeah." I smiled to myself and closed my eyes.

"I love you too Deidara-kun."

I smiled again, moving out of his arms and laid on the bed tiredly; I'd been staying awake for hours after all. Deidara smiled, laying next to me, and put his arm around my waist. I moved close to him, snuggling into his warm embrace, and closed my eyes. 'Arigato Haku, you kept your promise to me…thank you for sending someone as wonderful as Deidara to me.' I could feel myself become drowsier, and in the few moments that I laid cuddled close to Deidara, consciousness seemed all but lost.

_THE NEXT DAY_

"Deidara...I want to show you something." I said quietly, rubbing my arm self consciously. Deidara looked at me, slightly confused as to what I was talking about, and I bit down on my lower lip.

"Love? What are you talking about hm?" he asked, sounding confused.

"My...kekkei genkai." I whispered, lowering my eyes.

_FLASHBACK_

Deidara sighed, and I looked over at him curiously.

"Nani?" I asked, smiling a little. He chuckled quietly and put his arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

"Nothing yeah." he replied, chuckling again.

I giggled, loving his laugh, and nuzzled my head against his cheek. He smiled at me, and I glanced around my room. We'd been sitting on my bed for hours, we'd actually woken up rather early in the morning. I'd walked to my kitchen to find breakfast had already been made, by Deidara of course. He was an amazing cook, I'd practically drooled at how amazing the food was. After breakfast we'd went back to my room and laid on my bed together. Deidara had stared at me half the time we'd been here, and the other half we'd began talking about personal things. We hadn't gone into my past yet or his so I hoped we wouldn't. I didn't want to tell him about my family wanting me dead, and all the other horrible stuff. We'd been basically playing a game of twenty questions only there were alot more questions than twenty.

"You're turn yeah." I giggled to myself and thought for a moment.

"Your art is amazing Deidara-kun." I stated. "You can make it fly and explode...probably anything. Could you use it in battle?" Deidara sighed to himself and rubbed the back of his head, looking disappointed at the question.

"I was wishing you wouldn't ask that question yeah." he mumbled. I looked at him confused, wondering why he didn't like that question, and he smiled a bit. "The thing with that is...I do use them when I'm fighting. I just...didn't want you to get hurt by them when we were training, yeah."

"So you can make them and use them for more than just your art?" I asked shocked.

"Basically. Before I came here, that's all I used to use...of course now I use other things. My art is my expertise though…yeah." Deidara replied. I nodded, loving that he could use his art in such an amazing way, and said

"You're turn."

"Hm? What to ask un." he pondered. I giggled at the face he was making, and he smiled softly. "Have you always been sad? I mean...you always seem sad when we're not together or around people...has it always been that way with you hm?" I nodded, not liking the question to much, and looked down.

"When I was little I wasn't this way. I was always happy and smiling...full of energy. Then...I discovered something that I didn't want to know and left my village. Somehow...I became this...it's horrible being the way I am...I don't like it, but I've gotten used to it." I said quietly.

"Gomen yeah." Deidara said, hugging me tightly around the waist. I nodded, knowing it wasn't his fault, and sighed.

"It's not your fault." I whispered. "Don't apologize...it's my fault I became this way, alright?" He shook his head, looking at me like I was some type of challenge, and grinned.

"I won't let you stay this way yeah. You'll change...soon. Trust me yeah." he asked of me. I smiled to myself and laid my head on his chest, looking up at him through my bangs.

"I do trust you." I stated. "So here's my question, do you trust me?" He nodded, not hesitating in the least, and kissed the top of my head.

"With my life un." I smiled, loving that he trusted me as much as he did, and he looked down thinking. "Can I show you something hm?" I nodded, wondering what was going through his head, and he moved his hands from my waist.

"Dei?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side.

He smiled at me and undid the small buckle on his glove. I looked at his face curiously and watched him pull the glove off. I'd never seen Deidara without his gloves, but I was wondering what he wanted to show me exactly.

"You're always saying how weird you are...I don't believe that you are." he said softly. I looked at him, and he smiled. "You probably couldn't top how weird I am, yeah."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not understanding. He smiled again and cupped my cheek with his hand, his skin was so soft. "Deida-agh!" I jumped feeling something lick my cheek and looked at Deidara, wondering what was going on. "What was that?"

He smiled a little, looking nervous, and held his palm infront of my face. I stared at it slightly confused, there was a mouth on his hand? I tilted my head to the side, slightly confused as to how he had a mouth on his hand, and poked the mouth with my index finger. A tongue licked my finger, and I looked over at Deidara.

"This...is your big secret?" I asked quietly. He nodded and looked down, he seemed really self conscious about this. Had his father called him a freak because of this when he was a kid?

"So...is it weird hm?" he asked, hesitating a little. I looked back at the mouth on his hand and back at his face. I shook my head and smiled.

"It's not weird, it's just different." I said softly. He smiled slightly, the nervous look on his face gone, and kissed my cheek.

"I thought you'd freak out un." he told me. "That's why I didn't show you until now, yeah." I smiled and poked the mouth again. I giggled when it licked my finger and pressed my palm against Deidara's.

"Deidara-kun, you're not weird." I said honestly. "Don't ever think that because of this you're weird. It's not true." Deidara smiled and I bit my lip, trying to suppress a giggle. The mouth was licking my hand again. "Is this how you make your art?" Deidara chuckled and entwined his fingers with mine.

"Intelligent as always." he whispered, letting me know I was right in my assumption. I smiled and giggled again feeling the mouth lick my palm. "It's funny that you're not grossed out by this, yeah."

"I'm weird." I said, smiling a bit "This isn't gross, it's cool." Deidara chuckled, looking amused with me, and kissed the top of my head.

"You're amazing yeah." he said softly.

I smiled and something clicked in my head. 'Deidara showed me this, thinking that it'd scare me or gross me out…or something along those lines. It didn't do any of those things. He trusted me enough to show me this...if he could trust me enough to show me this...I have to trust him enough to show him my kekkei genkai. I have to…I need to get over the fear of it.'

"Deidara-kun?" I whispered, I could hear how nervous my voice sounded.

"Hm?" I looked at him, trying to hide how nervous I was, and he smiled. He looked a little confused as to why I sounded nervous, but his smile tried to help lessen it. "Hai love?" I wiggled out of his arms and stood up.

"Come with me." I asked of him, extending my hand. He looked at me, confusion reflecting in his visible eye, but he took my hand nonetheless. I led him out of my room and up to the roof of my house.

'Please…don't let him hate me after this.'

_END FLASHBACK_

"You're...kekkei genkai?" Deidara said quietly. I nodded and smiled slightly, trying to ignore how nervous I felt.

"Yeah." He stared at me, and I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "Deidara...I'll always love you." He looked down at me questioningly, and I kissed his cheek. He smiled at me and hugged me back.

"I love you too Sada, always and forever." he said softly.

I smiled, trying to slow my heart down, and buried my face in his shirt. 'Please...don't hate me.' I closed my eyes and felt the ground disappear beneath me. Deidara gasped in surprise when we fell through my roof and landed right on the couch.

The weird thing was with my kekkei genkai, if I wanted to, I could make other people go through things as well. I had to be touching them to get it to work though. I could make them go through anything, and if I wanted…I could go through things with them. That's just what had happened. I'd hugged Deidara, and when I activated my kekkei genkai, we both fell through the ceiling. The first time someone did it, they'd probably be dizzy so I was waiting for Deidara to ask me what just happened.

"What just happened hm?" he asked confused, looking right at me. I sighed, absentmindedly licking my lips, and looked down at the floor.

"My kekkei genkai." I started. "Let's me go through anything I want. I can make people go through things with me...that's why we just fell through the ceiling."

"We went through things?" he asked, sounding curious. "Like ghosts would hm?" I nodded, still feeling self conscious about it, and continued staring at the floor.

"I'm not a ghost though...I can just phase through things." He didn't say anything so I didn't dare look up at him, he must've thought this was weird. "Do you think I'm weird now?" He didn't say anything, and I felt tears roll down my cheeks.

'He does, he hates me now. Why'd I have to show him? I'm never using it again, I-'

"No un." he said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up at him, shocked that he didn't find it weird, and he smiled softly. "You're not weird. That was amazing yeah." I bit my lip, smiling in happiness, and he kissed my forehead. "Never think that you're weird because of your kekkei genkai. You aren't Sada-chan un." I sniffed, trying to control my emotions, and buried my face in his shirt.

'He understands...he's perfect. He's the one, the one Haku wanted me to find. The one I need to be with. I love him.'

"Deidara-kun...thank you for understanding. I love you so much." I whispered. He smiled and kissed my forehead again.

"I love you too un."

'Haku, arigato. I'll never be able to repay you for sending me someone so wonderful.'

**Author's Note: Another happy ending...of the chapter at least. Things will begin to get really bad though, so enjoy the love =]**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR_

_I walked into the building and looked around. There were so many people coming to see us, the Chunin Exams must've been a popular event. I looked over and saw all the Genin that had made the finals standing around in the middle of the field. I walked over to them and ignored the Konoha shinobi, walking around them to the Sand team. They were the only friends I had here anyway. I sighed a little and glanced at Dosu as I approached the Sands. He stared at me for a moment and looked away, I rolled my eyes. 'He's acting like he's so superior. Whatever, I can kick his ass.' I looked away from the overconfident Sound shinobi, Kankuro was saying_

_"Why isn't everyone here yet? It's almost time."_

_I rolled my eyes at that, Kankuro always had something to complain about. I came up behind Gaara and put my arms around his neck in a small hug. He still didn't like being touched all that much, so I was trying to keep skin contact at a minimum._

"Hi." I said quietly, He glanced back at me.

"Hi." he greeted.


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Condolence

I turned over on my side tiredly and looked over at where Deidara should be..he wasn't there. I sat up and looked around the room, knowing he must've went to make breakfast again. 'Maybe he decided to fix pancakes this morning, I'd really like some strawberries on my pancakes.' I smiled to myself, happy that I'd finally found someone I could share the secret of my kekkei genkai with, and hopped out of bed. I ran a comb through my hair impatiently, wanting to see Deidara, and walked out of my room. I walked down the hallway and into the kitchen; he wasn't in there.

"Deidara-kun?" I whispered, confusing flooding through my brain. I looked around, not understanding why he wasn't fixing breakfast since it was nine in the morning, and finally walked to the den. "Deidara-kun?" Nothing. I bit my lip confused and walked into my 'studio'. "Deidara?" Again, nothing. Where was he? I looked around and walked towards the bathroom. I knocked on the door and heard no response. "Deidara?" I yelled.

I didn't hear anything, where was Deidara? 'He might have went home to go get something. He must have had work. I'll go visit him...I do need a few new brushes.' I smiled slightly, knowing that's where he had to have went, and walked back to my room. I quickly got dressed in my daily outfit, put on my necklace and bracelet; they were the only pieces of jewelry I owned after all. I looked at myself in the mirror and pushed my hair infront of my face. I sighed quietly and walked out of my house. I walked down the street, feeling rather impatient about wanting to see Deidara, and I walked into the art store. I looked at Seji and he smiled, knowing I was a normal customer at the art store.

"Can I help you?" he asked, like all employees did. I walked up to the register since I knew he wouldn't hear my quiet voice and held my arms infront of my chest.

"Is Deidara here?" I asked quietly. He shook his head and gave me a confused look.

"Didn't he tell you?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Tell me what?" I asked curiously, what was going on?

"He quit." Seji stated. I looked at him confused, wondering why Deidara had quit, and said

"When?"

"He came in earlier this morning, around seven.." Seji replied. "Told me he had to quit."

"Nande?" I asked quickly. Seji scratched the back of his head in thought and shrugged.

"He said that he couldn't handle the stress, and he had to head home." Seji finally said. "Don't know what he meant by home, he lives in the village doesn't he?" I nodded, but I knew what he meant. He was going back to the Village Hidden in the Rocks, why would he go back there though?

"Arigato for your help." I said softly.

"No problem." Seji said, shrugging again. I walked out of the art store and ran towards Deidara's apartment, he couldn't have cleared all his stuff out in two hours...could he? I knocked on the door and waited; nothing. I knocked again, louder this time. Again, there was nothing.

"Deidara?" I said loudly.

I banged on the door, and it remained closed. I bit my lip, looking around the empty streets, and phased through the door into his apartment. I looked around and shook my head in shock; it was empty. I ran to his bedroom and gasped seeing it empty as well, so he had managed to empty it out in two hours. 'Why'd he leave?' I bit my lip and realization hit me. 'It's because of me. He left because of me...because of my kekkei genkai.' I slumped against the wall and dropped onto the floor. I drew my knees to my chest and put my head on my knees, coughing a little. I felt tears falling down my face and made no motion to wipe them away. I didn't want this to happen, I didn't think it would happen, but it had. Deidara was afraid of my kekkei genkai; he'd left because of me. I was hurt, I was _really_ hurt. I fell in love with Deidara, and he'd left me. He hadn't even said goodbye, he didn't want anything else to do with me. I cried harder, choking on air, and punched the floor, trying to let out all my emotions.

"I'm so stupid." I whispered, hating myself. "Nande?" I sniffed, coughing again, and shook my head sadly. "Nande Deidara? Nande?"

After what seemed like hours, I finally managed to push myself to my feet and walked out of the empty apartment. I walked down the street and rubbed my hand. I couldn't feel anything, but it was all because the hurt emotions I was feeling was blocking the pain, I knew when I calmed down it'd be killer pain. I sniffed again, choking on air, and wiped at my tears. It was hard for me to stop crying but I knew that if I didn't, people would be surrounding me asking what was wrong. I sighed, wiping away the rest of my tears, and looked around the street. There had to be someone here that I could trust, someone that I could talk to. Sasuke wasn't here or I'd talk to him. Why did he have to disappear from his room like that? I needed him, and he wasn't here. He was my best friend, but I wait…I had Gaara now. Where would he be right now? I walked down the street, avoiding people's eyes like I normally did, and looked up hearing someone say

"Kankuro shut up you baka!" Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were all sitting at the coffee shop Deidara and I often went to. "Stop hitting on the waitresses already." Temari ordered, not sounding very amused with him.

"Bite me Temari, I can hit on whoever I want." Kankuro yelled, not liking how she was bossing him around. Temari hit him upside the head and said

"You're such a womanizer." Kankuro started mumbling to himself, not seeming the least bit happy, and Gaara sighed.

"Shut up you two." he ordered.

I sniffed, happy that I'd found Gaara after ten _long _minutes of searching, and felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks again. I coughed softly, not liking how these tears were affecting me, and walked into the coffee shop. I had to make sure Temari and Kankuro wouldn't notice how much I was crying, we all weren't exactly friends…yet. Temari had invited me to dinner a few times since Gaara and I were becoming rather close friends, and Kankuro had stopped hitting on me since he found out Deidara was my boyfriend. I couldn't exactly consider them friends yet though, they were more like acquaintances than anything. I walked down the aisle to where they were sitting and tapped Gaara's shoulder.

"Sada?" I looked at him and bit my lip, trying to control my tears.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked quietly. I saw Temari and Kankuro looked away from arguing with each other, and I bowed my head slightly so my bangs covered my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked.

He didn't seem to understand what was wrong with me, but I could hear the slight sympathy in his voice. He quickly got up from his seat, moving infront of me. I coughed a little, choking on air again, and he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Sada?" he questioned.

I couldn't stop myself, I was too emotionally messed up right now. I latched onto him, crying softly. I felt his body stiffen at first but he moved his arms around me, hugging me back. He must've remembered that hugs made people feel better and showed them that you cared, he was really learning how to understand people's emotions a little better than he used to.

"Sada." he repeated, I cried harder.

I sniffed and let him lead me to sit down beside him. I held onto him, still crying, and buried my face in his shoulder. I felt him move his hand to my hair, and he hesitantly stroked my hair. I bit down on my lower lip, still crying, and heard Temari say

"Sada…are you alright?"

For the first time since I'd met her, she sounded actually concerned about me. It was a nice change I guessed, to know that I had a female acquaintance that cared about me. I shook my head, moving my face out of Gaara's shoulder. She looked genuinely concerned, Kankuro did as well. They must've realized something major was wrong, they usually just let Gaara and me have our time alone together. I guessed that they thought Gaara wouldn't be able to handle this on his own, and that's why they were still here.

"Sada…talk to us." Kankuro asked of me, I coughed.

"She'll talk when she wants." Gaara said, sounding cold.

Kankuro cringed back a little, nodding to the redhead. I moved my face back into Gaara's shoulder, crying for a few more minutes until I managed to calm myself down enough so I could talk to them. I sniffed, wiping at my eyes, and glanced up at Gaara through my bangs.

"Sada…chan." I almost smiled at the suffix he'd added to my name, he must've remembered what I'd told him about the suffixes as well.

"He…" I stopped, wiping at my tears again. "He's…gone…"

Temari's eyes widened, she realized I was talking about Deidara. Kankuro's eyes narrowed in a glare, he understood as well. Gaara didn't look like he got it though, I'd have to say who.

"Who?" he asked, still sounding emotionless. I coughed again, managing to get out the name.

"Deidara."

Gaara nodded, I watched his eyes grow cold; he looked very angry. This was just like he'd always looked before, bloodthirsty. He looked like he was ready to kill, but I couldn't make myself calm him down...I was too heartbroken.

"Where'd he go?" Gaara asked, sounding cold. I shrugged, I didn't really know if he actually had went back to the Village Hidden in the Rocks. He might've just decided to move to another village.

"It…hurts." I whispered. I felt someone touch my shoulder, a hand that I wasn't familiar with. I looked up, finding Temari's eyes. She gave me a smile of sympathy and said

"Sada…you're too good for him. Way too pretty, and sweet, and powerful. You could do so much better." I coughed, shaking my head. I was worthless, I didn't deserve anything.

"Temari's right Sada." Kankuro told me, I moved my eyes to him. "Do you know how many guys admire how gorgeous you are? They all want you for themselves."

"Including you." Temari mumbled, Kankuro shoved her. I giggled a bit at the comedy and moved my eyes to Gaara.

"It hurts inside." he guessed with an emotionless tone, I nodded. I stared up into his sea green eyes, seeing that he was actually beginning to care about someone other than himself, and he said "I'm…not good at comforting." I smiled a little, hiccupping at how much I was crying.

"You're doing a good job if you ask me." I told him, hiccupping again. He nodded a little, holding me close to him, stroking my hair softly.

"Is this right?" he asked, I nodded in agreement. I buried my face in his shoulder again and heard him say "He'll die." I didn't even bother to protest. I loved Deidara, but Gaara was angry with him for hurting me this way. I knew that nothing I said would change his mind.

"Gaara…maybe that isn't the best idea." Kankuro said with a hesitant voice. I could just feel Gaara glare at him, he wasn't very happy.

"I'll kill him for hurting her." he repeated, sounding even colder than he just had. I sniffed a bit, taking a shaky breath. "Sada-chan's…my friend." I nodded in agreement, hugging him tighter.

"Arigato Gaara-kun."

I was lucky to have Gaara here for me and maybe…I could even consider Temari and Kankuro friends now. Not best friends, but just regular friends. Gaara and Sasuke were my two best friends, and no one could replace them. I smiled a bit and snuggled close to Gaara, I was lucky to have someone like him in my life.

__

A FEW DAYS LATER

I walked down the street and looked ahead at the huge building. It was where the third part of the Chunin Exams was to be held. I hadn't seen any of my fellow Konoha Genin since they'd interrupted my first date with Deidara, and I guessed it was for the better. I didn't want any of them knowing that Deidara had left me, or that I was heart broken. Gaara was giving me the support that I needed right now, even Kankuro and Temari were being more accepting of me around their apartment. They were all helping me feel better, I didn't know what I would've done if I didn't have anyone to talk to. I'd actually learnt a bunch of stuff about them that I wouldn't have ever guessed, the three of them were siblings; how much of a shocker was that? Sasuke hadn't returned yet or I would have told him everything that had happened. I knew that no one had any idea where he was, but hopefully he'd arrive on time for the Exams.

I walked into the building and looked around. There were so many people coming to see us, the Chunin Exams must've been a popular event. I looked over and saw all the Genin that had made the finals standing around in the middle of the field. I walked over to them and ignored the Konoha shinobi, walking around them to the Sand team. They were the only friends I had here anyway. I sighed a little and glanced at Dosu as I approached the Sands. He stared at me for a moment and looked away, I rolled my eyes. 'He's acting like he's so superior. Whatever, I can kick his ass.' I looked away from the overconfident Sound shinobi, Kankuro was saying

"Why isn't everyone here yet? It's almost time."

I rolled my eyes at that, Kankuro always had something to complain about. I came up behind Gaara and put my arms around his neck in a small hug. He still didn't like being touched all that much, so I was trying to keep skin contact at a minimum.

"Hi." I said quietly. He glanced back at me and smiled _slightly_.

"Hi." he greeted. I let go of him and stood beside him. "How was your night?" I shrugged and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail but let my bangs hang in my face.

"Boring. How was yours?" I asked, shrugging a little bit. He gave me a blank look, it told me that his demon had been bothering him. "Are you ok now?" He nodded a bit, I could tell that he was lying but I didn't say anything about it. I knew how hard it was for him to control it, it was a constant battle for him.

"How are you doing this morning Sada?" Temari asked, I shrugged.

"Eh, a little excited." I said honestly. "I can't wait to kick that Sound shinobi's ass." Kankuro chuckled at my swearing, he always thought it sounded "cute" for some reason.

"You will, he doesn't have very powerful chakra." he said, I giggled a bit in agreement.

"Yeah…I guess not." I said, not very interested in talking about it anymore. "I still wonder who'll become a Chunin…most likely you guys." Temari smiled, liking the compliment.

"You too." she said. "During the preliminaries…damn. That technique of yours seemed pretty powerful." I nodded, never having explained it to them, I didn't feel the need to.

"Hopefully…this place seems too cramped to learn though. Everyone seems a little too judgmental, no one likes my techniques anyway." Kankuro rolled his eyes, not seeming amused by that.

"I hate kids." he mumbled, I almost smiled at that statement; the Konoha shinobi were so closed minded. I looked over hearing Gaara mumble something and lightly touched his shoulder.

"Gaara-kun?" I questioned, he moved out of my touch.

"Don't…shut up."

I bit down on my lower lip, his demon was getting to him. I looked at Temari and Kankuro, they nodded. I took a few steps away from him, closer to Temari. Space was the best thing to give him when he was like this.

"Watch out, they're going to eat us!"

I looked away from Gaara to see Naruto talking really fast and apparently freaked out about something. I rolled my eyes, not the least bit amused at how loud he was, and sighed. I looked up hearing a voice, and the Hokage announced that the Chunin Exams were about to begin.

"Looks like we should get going then." Kankuro said, we all nodded in agreement.

I walked up the stairs with the Sands to the balcony, we didn't really talk to much about the upcoming matches. I stood by Temari and Kankuro next to the railing and watched Gaara lean against the wall. He was holding his head again, I looked at him slightly concerned. Was his demon getting _that _unmanageable?

"Kankuro?" I said quietly, grabbing his sleeve. He looked over at me, and I pointed to Gaara.

"It'd be best to leave him alone." Kankuro told me. "He has to fight it on his own, he'll be fine as long as there's not too much blood in the matches." I nodded, making myself a mental note not to get _too _messy in my fight, and looked down at Naruto ready to fight Neji.

(Alright as before all I'm going to do is say the matches, the outcomes and so forth alright? I'm only explaining Sada's match. And Sasuke's and Gaara's. That's it. Alright? Ok, let's get started)

_Uzumaki Naruto VS Hyuuga Neji: Winner Uzumaki Naruto_

_Gaara VS Sasuke Uchiha: Winner ?_

_Sada VS Kinuta Dosu: Winner ?_

_Kankuro VS Aburame Shino: Winner Aburame Shino_

_Temari VS Nara Shikamaru: Winner Temari _

"Let's move on to the next match." Genma said. "Sada vs. Kinuta Dosu." I took a breath and looked over at Gaara.

"You'll do fine." he assured, his same emotionless tone. I nodded, mentally thanking him for his support, and Temari smiled.

"Good luck." she said. I nodded a thank you, and Kankuro smiled as well.

"Kick some ass."

I rolled my eyes, slightly amused at how encouraging they all were, and jumped down into the arena. I walked over to Genma and looked at him, waiting for Dosu to get down here. Dosu finally came down after a few long seconds and faced me. I stared at him, getting rid of all emotion on my face, and Genma went through all the 'if the opponent dies you win' and blah blah blah.

"Are both of you ready?" he asked. I nodded, and Dosu nodded as well. I put my hands on my sides were my sais were and waited. "BEGIN!" I jumped backwards and pulled out my sais.

'Let the battle begin.'

**_Author's Note: Such a sad chapter, I hated writing it...sorta. The part with her upset about Deidara leaving at least. That was awful...Thing's will get better though eventually. Never fear!_**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE_

_I twirled my sais and stared at Dosu standing across the field. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up, and I moved my gaze to the sound device on his arm. 'If I get that off he'll defenseless…his chakra isn't impressive in the least.' I threw one of my sais across the field, and as expected, he blocked using the arm with the sound device on it. I quickly ran across the field and kicked him straight in the face. He steadied himself to where he didn't fly backwards, and I closed my eyes doing quick handsigns. 'Blinded in Darkness jutsu.' He covered his eyes, an angry expression on his face, and I smirked in amusement; I knew he wouldn't like this. Deja vu much? He staggered backwards, and I did a couple of back flips for distance. I didn't want to be caught in my own jutsu, that wouldn't have been a pretty sight._

_"You bitch!" he yelled, sounding angry. "You have to have me blinded to defeat me? You're not even a shinobi you worthless scum!"I glared at him, ignoring his rambling, and closed my eyes doing my handsigns. 'Spheres of Darkness.'_


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: Capability

Deidara made a handsign and watched for a moment until finally the boulder hiding the base moved. He sighed boredly and walked on top of the water until he entered the hideout. The boulder lowered and darkness was casted upon the hallway. The only light was the candles that lined the wall. He sighed again and walked down the hallway with a blank expression on his face. He'd just arrived back at the Akatsuki base, but even though he was basically home…he felt sad. He missed Sada; he missed her so much. He'd left a note to her telling her that he just had to leave for a short time, but he'd be back soon. Maybe reading it would make her happy, and she wouldn't have to miss him as much as he missed her. He was going to try his best to convince Pein to allow him to accompany Kisame and Itachi on their mission to capture the nine-tailed. Hopefully he'd allow it; Deidara just needed some excuse to go back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He wasn't going to be able to stay away from Sada much longer, if he did he'd go insane. He went down the hallway on the left and finally stopped at Pein's door. He stared at the door of Pein's office and finally knocked.

"Enter." Pein's voice said.

Deidara pushed his bangs away from his face and entered the room. He closed the door and bowed slightly, staring at Pein who was sitting behind his desk on the other side of the room.

"You've returned." Pein stated.

"Hai, leader-sama." Deidara said respectfully. He stood straight and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've acquired much information on the nine-tailed Jinchuuriki, but there seemed to be some things I couldn't find out in time." Pein nodded and sighed.

"What sort of things?" he asked coldly.

"It seems that the nine-tailed has an enormous amount of power, and it's as if he can't control it very well, yeah. When he goes into a rage of anger, he's too powerful to contain, un." Deidara replied. Pein nodded and thought for a moment. "Also, his sensei is one of the three legendary Sannin yeah." Pein nodded again, not liking this new complication, and stared at Deidara with little emotion.

"Accompany Itachi and Kisame on their mission. You may be of some help to them." Pein said after a moment.

Deidara nodded and bowed again before exiting the dark room. He smiled slightly and walked down the hallway of the base to find Kisame and Itachi. He got to go back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, his luck was fantastic. He'd be able to bring Sada back with him, they could finally be together forever once she was here. If she wanted to come that is, but he knew she would. She loved him just as much as he loved her, there was no way she'd want to be away from him any longer. He hadn't even lied about anything to his leader, and Pein had allowed him to go with Itachi and Kisame; this was awesome...besides the fact that Kisame was so annoying with his complaining.

He walked into his room and dropped everything on the floor, he hated anything that had to do with being neat and organized. He'd always been that way, even back in his home village. He walked out of his room and looked down the hallway. Where were Kisame, and Itachi? He groaned loudly and walked towards the dining room. It was around dinner time so maybe they were in there, all the members ate together like a family would after all. 'Sada darling, I'll be back soon. I promised I would come back to you, and I will.' He walked into the dining room and smirked cockily. 'I was right, they're here.'

"Miss me hm?" Deidara asked, with a sarcastic tone. The three men sitting at the table turned around, and Deidara grinned at them. It was so good to be back.

_THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE LEAVES_

I twirled my sais and stared at Dosu standing across the field. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt up, and I moved my gaze to the sound device on his arm. 'If I get that off he'll defenseless…his chakra isn't impressive in the least.' I threw one of my sais across the field, and as expected, he blocked using the arm with the sound device on it. I _quickly_ ran across the field and kicked him straight in the face. He steadied himself to where he didn't fly backwards, and I closed my eyes doing quick handsigns. 'Blinded in Darkness jutsu.' He covered his eyes, an angry expression on his face, and I smirked in amusement; I knew he wouldn't like this. Deja vu much? He staggered backwards, and I did a couple of back flips for distance. I didn't want to be caught in my own jutsu, that wouldn't have been a pretty sight.

"You bitch!" he yelled, sounding angry. "You have to have me blinded to defeat me? You're not even a shinobi you worthless scum!"

I glared at him, ignoring his rambling, and closed my eyes doing my handsigns. 'Spheres of Darkness.' I loved this attack, I really did; I'd managed to perfect it in the few days that Deidara had been gone. It was kind of sad that Dosu wasn't going to even get one punch on me, but he wasn't all that powerful. Plus, I was above the level of a Genin, even above a Chunin. I was powerful, it wasn't my fault. After all, I had been trained by one of the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

"This fight was over before it even began." I stated, opening my eyes.

Tons of miniature sized spheres were floating all around me. I moved one of my hands into a handsign and watched them spread out, knowing the crowd must have been confused as to what I was doing. Well, they weren't going to be soon enough.

"Fight me fair you bitch!" Dosu yelled again. I rolled my eyes and sighed to myself.

"You want to see what's going on, fine. Demo…it's the last thing you'll ever see." I warned. I deactivated my blinding jutsu, and he looked around at all the spheres with a confused/terrified look.

"What are you doing?" he inquired, sounding intimidated.

"You'll see. I'd not touch them if I were you." I advised. He glared, apparently not liking how bitchy I was acting, and pushed his sleeve up again.

'He won't be able to throw one attack at me.' I closed my eyes and focused. 'Sayonara Dosu.'

"Katsu!"

Explosions echoed everywhere, and I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful art there was. Explosions truly were art. I smiled to myself, loving how beautiful this was, and watched them all explode like dominos falling. Each explosion made another happen. Fifteen seconds went by, twenty tops. Then he fell to the ground, he was still semiconscious though. I stared at his body for a moment and finally did some handsigns releasing my spheres to all explode at once seeing as he wasn't defeated yet.

"Katsu."

They all exploded together, making the most breathtaking explosion. It was gorgeous if you asked me. I looked at where his body should be and shrugged to myself. I guess I'd over done it with the explosions, oh well though. Genma looked around for a moment, making sure that he hadn't used a substitution, and finally raised his hand up declaring the match over.

"The winner is Sada."

Claps came from the crowed, but I had a feeling it was just because clapping was the polite thing to do. From the faces that I could see in the crowd, they looked a little intimidated by my techniques. Eh, what did I care? I looked up and saw the Hokage talking with the Kazekage about my match. I wondered if they were impressed or creeped out by my power. I shrugged it off, not really caring, and walked back up the stairs towards the balcony. I finally made it inside, ignoring the Konoha shinobi. I walked to stand back next to Temari and Kankuro and leaned forward on the railing.

"Wow that was awesome." Kankuro said with a smirk.

"You kicked major ass." Temari said, sounding impressed. I shrugged and smiled slightly.

"I had a little help from someone." I said quietly.

I moved my attention to Gaara, he was still holding his head muttering to himself. He didn't look all that good, the muttering was _really_ worrying me. Usually when he muttered that wasn't a good thing…especially since he only muttered when his demon was bothering him.

"Is he ok?" I asked with a worried tone.

"He'll be fine." Kankuro assured. "He's taking care of it the only way he knows how."

I looked at Gaara unconvinced but didn't bother him. He needed a little bit of peace from everyone, it wasn't safe for people to be around him when he was like this. That demon of his was _really _messing with him. I looked back at Genma, and he said

"Alright let's start the next match. Kankuro versus Shino Aburame. Get down here the both of you." Kankuro looked over at Temari and finally shook his head.

"Proctor, I withdraw." he shouted. Everyone in the audience started complaining, and Genma shook his head annoyed. "I withdraw so please proceed to the next match." I looked at Kankuro, slightly confused as to why he'd withdrawn from his match, and finally at Temari. She grinned and put her hands on her hips.

"My match next." she whispered to herself.

"The winner is Shino Aburame. Let's start the next match."

No sooner had Genma said that Temari jumped down ready to fight Shikamaru. I sighed and stared up at the clouds thinking about Deidara. 'Why'd he have to leave me like that? He said that he loved me, but he left me. Who does that to someone?' I sighed and looked down to see Temari was announced the winner. Naruto was down in the stadium arguing with Shikamaru about something, apparently he'd surrendered to her. I rolled my eyes, and Temari jumped back onto the balcony.

"Miss me?" she asked, sounding a little conceited.

"Hardly." Kankuro muttered.

She slapped him upside the head, and he grumbled. I rolled my eyes to myself in amusement and waited for Sasuke to get here. He was already late enough, his match had been postponed but only for a short time. If he didn't get here in the next five minutes then he'd be disqualified; he had to get here. The only problem with Sasuke's battle was the fact that he was fighting Gaara. Both of them were my best friends so I didn't know who I wanted to win. It was so hard choosing between your friends sometimes. Suddenly leaves started swirling around in the field, and I looked up. A smile came to my lips, and I felt happier than I had these past few days; Sasuke was back.

I smiled and bit my lower lip. Sasuke, my best friend, he was finally back. This had just made my day so much better, I had my other best friend here with me. Well...he wasn't up _here,_ but he was in the stadium. I finally had him back, and I was ready to tell him so many things about what had been happening. I wanted to tell him everything that had went on while he was away, and I was even ready to tell him about my past...in a little more detail. No more secrets, I wasn't going to hide anything else from him. He was my best friend, and I wasn't going to risk losing him like I'd lost Deidara. I'd make sure not to show him my kekkei genkai though, that had taken Deidara from me and I wasn't willing to lose Sasuke.

"Gomen we're late." Kakashi apologized. "We lost track of time, thanks for waiting for us."

"Finally." Gaara muttered. I looked back at him, and he walked away towards the stairs.

"Good luck." I whispered. He nodded, signifying that he'd heard me, and slowly walked down the stairs. I looked back towards the arena, and Naruto said

"Sasuke, don't lose, cause I want to fight you myself." Sasuke smirked, and I bit my lower lip happily.

"Got it." Sasuke said with confidence.

I smiled, watching Naruto and Shikamaru walked off towards the stairs. I continued to stare down into the field, and Kakashi whispered a few things to Sasuke. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but it really didn't matter. My best friend was finally back. Kakashi disappeared, and Sasuke looked up into the balcony. I smiled at him, and he nodded to me. Even though he kept his emotionless face on I could still see happiness in his eyes. He'd missed me, probably as much as I'd missed him. We were best friends, and so incredibly close. It was hard for us to survive without each other. I smiled again and watched as Gaara walked onto the field. He and Sasuke faced each other and I closed my eyes, praying to myself. 'Please don't let either of them kill each other...please.'

"Begin!" Genma yelled.

I opened my eyes and watched Sasuke jump backwards from Gaara when sand began coming out of the gourd. I stared at him for a second and finally moved my eyes to Gaara. He had grabbed his head and was mumbling to himself again. 'This is not good at all.' The sand finally dropped, and Sasuke threw shuriken at Gaara. A Sand clone stopped them and Sasuke ran/jumped at it, blocking the shuriken that were thrown at him. He kicked the clone and bounced back up, punching it. His hand got caught for a moment, but he destroyed the clone and went straight for Gaara. Then he ran, he was so fast. So much faster than before, most people probably thought he disappeared but no, he just ran. He punched Gaara, sending him flying backwards, and Sasuke said

"So that's your Sand armor huh?" I watched him get into the fighting stance that Lee usually got in, and he smirked. "Come on." Gaara didn't move, and Sasuke said "If you won't then I will." He ran at Gaara, and the sand tried it's best to defend him but it was no match for Sasuke's newly acquired speed. "Is that all you've got? I'm going to tear off all your armor." Sasuke ran circles around Gaara, and I stared at him in amazement.

'He's gotten so much stronger and faster. I bet he really is at Chunin level right now.'

In the mere moment that my eyes were closed so much must've happened because now, Gaara was on the ground with his sand slowly turning into a spherical form. What had Gaara called it when we'd talked about it? 'Absolute defense. Sasuke can't get through that...can he?' Sasuke did some back flips up the wall of the stadium and looked over at me. I smiled slightly, and he smiled at me. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit, and he chuckled to himself seeing my blush. I didn't understand why I was blushing, but I didn't really question it. This match was quite important, I needed to be paying attention rather than thinking. Sasuke did some quick handsign, and it looked as if lightening had appeared in his hand. It wasn't lightening though...it was chakra. He ran down the wall and towards the sand sphere. I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip. 'God this really is bad.'

Gaara's scream echoed throughout the stadium, and I stared down, waiting for something to happen. 'Please don't let his injury be _that_ bad. Please!' The sand slowly began falling, and Sasuke readied himself for the continuation of their fight. When the sand had finally fell to the ground, I stared at Gaara clutching his arm, and there was a huge explosion. I looked up instantly and bit my lip. 'It came from where the Hokage is.'

"Come on Kankuro." Temari instructed.

I looked over at the two of them, and they both jumped into the arena. They both went to Gaara, and I looked over to see all sorts of Sound shinobi appear out of no where. I gasped and looked back at the arena. Temari and Kankuro had grabbed Gaara and jumped out of the stadium. Seconds later, Sasuke followed them. What was going on? I ran down the stairs and looked in the spectator area. Some sort of jutsu had been put into place, and everyone was unconscious. What was going on? Sound shinobi jumped in there and started fighting with the sensei's. What the hell was going on here?

"Konnichiwa little girl?" I turned around and glared at the Sound shinobi.

'Today...really sucks.'

**Author's Note: Ooooo, what's gonna happen? Where's Sada going to go...hmmmm....take a wild guess!**

_RATHER SHORT PREVIEW: CHAPTER TWENTY SIX_

_I dodged the kunai that came flying at my face and closed my eyes doing some quick handsigns. 'Childhood fears jutsu.' I opened my eyes and watched the Sound shinobi begin to scream their heads off. I took in a breath and watched Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru jump through a hole in the wall. 'I wonder what they're doing.'_


	27. Chapter Twenty Six: Jeopardy

I dodged the kunai that came flying at my face and closed my eyes doing some quick handsigns. 'Childhood fears jutsu.' I opened my eyes and watched the Sound shinobi begin to scream their heads off. I took in a breath and watched Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru jump through a hole in the wall. 'I wonder what they're doing.' I felt something cut my arm and glared up at another Sound shinobi. 'How many of them are there?' I jumped backwards and closed my eyes again. I did quick handsigns and blinded him in the darkness. 'That should keep him busy.'

"We have to get to the Hokage." an Anbu said. "We don't know what's happened to him."

I gasped in surprise and bit my lower lip. 'They're never going to get to him in time. All these shinobi are going to go straight for the Anbu. Demo…not for a little girl.' I smiled slightly and jumped through the hole in the wall. I ran up the wall and stood on the roof of the spectator building. I looked over in the direction of where the Hokage should be and saw him being held hostage by the Kazekage. 'It's up to me to save the day.' I took a breath and bolted across the roof. I jumped over onto the roof the Hokage and Kazekage were on, but right after I landed some sort of shield went up. I looked around slightly confused and finally in the direction of the Hokage and..._Orochimaru? _

I took a slow deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I'd never thought I'd have to see him again but now that I had seen him, I was going to kick his ass for what he did to me for years of my life. I was still terrified of him don't get me wrong, but I had someone I had to protect, the Hokage. I took another breath and closed my eyes. I did some handsigns and watched my Spheres of Darkness appear. I spread them out and made sure all of them were hidden from sight. I looked back towards Orochimaru and glared at him. 'This is for what you did to me for years you bastard.' I ran up behind him and kicked him right in the back of the head. He hadn't been expected me so he flew across the roof and landed in a heap on the ground.

"Sada!" the Hokage shouted, sounding terrified of me being there. I smiled slightly and bowed a little.

"Konnichiwa Hokage-sama." I greeted.

"Child, you need to get out of here." he instructed. I shook my head and glared at Orochimaru who was slowly getting to his feet.

"I have a score to settle with him. Plus," I looked back to at the Hokage and smiled. "It's my duty to protect you Hokage-sama." He looked at me slightly confused, and I stood infront of him in a fighting stance. Orochimaru looked back at me and smirked.

"Sada, I never imagined I'd see you again." he slurred. My glare deepened, and I growled at him.

"Stay the hell away, I'll kick your ass!" I warned. He chuckled slightly and licked his lips.

"Why don't you just come back to the Village Hidden in the Sound with me? I can give you everything you seek." he said in a creepy voice…so disturbing.

"So you'll let me kill you?" I asked emotionlessly. "I really doubt that."

"Sada, Sada, Sada." he said, shaking his head. "You're special, you have a kekkei genkai no one could possibly have. I can help you to master it."

"I've already mastered it!" I shouted. "And I'll prove it by defeating you!" I ran at him despite the Hokage's protests, and Orochimaru smirked. I dodged his _icky_ tongue and kicked at his face. He ducked, and I closed my eyes doing some handsigns.

"Katsu!"

My spheres began exploding, and I used that distraction to pull my sais off my side. I stabbed him right in the stomach and pushed the sais upward. He gasped, and I dug it deeper into him.

"This is what you get for making my life a living hell you monster." I spat.

I threw him across the roof and tiles even started coming off he slid across it so hard. I smirked and phased through the roof to where I was right beside his body. No one could see what was going on so I was safe with using my kekkei genkai, I knew the Hokage would keep it a secret. Orochimaru looked so pathetic, all crumpled up on the ground. I was finally going to have my revenge, I was going to kill this man. I kicked him to where he was lying on his back and stared at the body. 'No, I've been-' I never finished my thought and felt something wrap around my neck...something slimy.

I gasped and activated my kekkei genkai again. I dropped down on the roof and swirled around, kicking him right in the stomach. He backed up a bit and did some handsigns. I looked at him curiously and did some back flips for distance. I wasn't going near that nasty tongue again, there was no way in hell. I glared at him, and he ran. He was too fast for my eyes and before I knew it, he was right infront of me. I gasped in surprise and punched at his face. He caught my punch and when I tried to phase through his hand, I couldn't. 'He's found a way to stop me from phasing...this isn't good.' I moved backwards slightly, trying to pull my hand away, and he threw me across the roof. I hit my head pretty hard and looked over to see the Hokage watching me with a worried expression. I pushed myself to my feet and felt the oxygen to my lungs diminishing. I coughed, clawing at Orochimaru's hand, and felt something sink into the flesh of my neck. I screamed and gathered darkness in my palm. I punched at him, succeeding in getting him to drop me, and grabbed my neck. It hurt, it felt like fire was running through my veins. I looked up and flew backwards again. When had Orochimaru gotten that close to me without my noticing? I looked up at him through my hair and jumped backwards seeing him getting closer.

My vision was groggy, and my body felt so weak; my limbs were burning. He'd barely hit me, but the times he had hit me hurt like hell. And him biting me, what the hell was that about? I took a quick breath and threw some kunai at him. He dodged them lazily, and I jumped further backwards. I closed my eyes and did some handsigns as fast as my hands would move. I opened my eyes, ignoring all the pain I was feeling, and glanced at all the darkness slowly engulfing the world. I smirked to myself, and he stared at me with interest. Finally the world was covered in darkness, and I activated the Night Vision jutsu. I stared at him in the dark and did more handsigns. I didn't know if he could see like I could, but I kept my distance just to be safe. I completed the last handsign and bit my lower lip. 'Please let this work. Darkness Reverse jutsu.'

I'd used this jutsu during the second part of the exam in my match against Shigure Yamichi. My jutsu had totally destroyed his heart, and I'd tried my best to prefect it during my month of training. I was hoping that since I had perfected it that I'd be able to use it against Orochimaru. He was a powerful shinobi, so it might just bounce off him. This was the only move I could think of right now so I prayed that it would work. I had tons of other moves that were probably better, but this one was the one calling to me right now. I felt like I _had_ to use it. I watched for a moment, and Orochimaru let out a yell of pain. It wasn't a loud yell of pain, it was more like a gasp, but that helped me know that my jutsu was having some affect on him. Now all I had to do was force myself to get closer to him and steal his chakra. After I did that he'd have no defense against my jutsu. I took a breath and walked closer to him. I let go of all the blocks I'd kept up these past few years and touched his forehead. I could feel the chakra leaving his body, and apparently he could feel it too because he punched at me. I ducked but kept skin contact with him.

"You, you." he gasped.

"Me." I said bluntly. "I told you I was going to kill you, and I am."

He took more gasps, trying to breathe, and I smirked; I was going to kill him. Within the next ten minutes he'd be dead. I just had to make sure he wouldn't be able to get out of my touch. I glanced over at the Hokage, and he stared right at me. I'd done my job as a Konoha shinobi, I'd protected the Hokage. I smiled slightly, but my thoughts immediately stopped when something made contact with my head. I flew across the roof and hit my head harder than I had the first time. I glanced up slightly and felt something else hit my head. I could feel myself becoming drossier and against my own will, I passed out.

__

HOURS LATER

I slowly opened my eyes and glanced up through my hair to see what had happened between Orochimaru and the Hokage. I let my eyes scan the building and finally felt tears well up around my eyes...the Hokage was dead. Orochimaru was standing over him, glaring down at his body. His arms looked rather useless hanging down at his sides like that...what had the Hokage done to him?

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kidoumaru yelled. I glanced over, and Sakon, Kidoumaru, Tayuya, and Jiroubou let down the shield around us. I took a deep breath and watched them all jump over to Orochimaru.

"Are you alright Orochimaru-sama?" Sakon asked, concerned about his Lord.

"No." he hissed angrily. "That old fool did something to me. Let's get out of here."

They nodded, and Jiroubou and Sakon grabbed an arm each to support him. I tried to push myself up, but my muscles didn't want to work correctly. I had to kill Orochimaru before he got away...I _had_ to.

"Matte." They stopped, and his yellow eyes fell on me. "Grab the girl." he ordered. I looked up and pushed myself backwards slightly.

"Demo Orochimaru-sama, we have to get out of here before-" Tayuya started.

"Shut up." he snapped. "I said grab the girl, and I mean grab the girl."

She lowered her head, and Kidoumaru began walking towards me. I moved backwards slightly and tried to push myself up. My muscles still didn't want to work correctly, and I still felt so weird…what was going on? He grabbed my arm, and I attempted to punch him. He caught my punch and pulled me to my feet. I growled at him, angry flooding through my body, and phased through his hands. I dropped back on the roof, and he looked back at his companions.

"She's doing that weird thing of hers." he said. "I can't keep a hold of her." Orochimaru hissed angrily and said

"I don't care how you get a hold of her just do it!" Kidoumaru flinched slightly and finally grabbed my hair. I whimpered slightly, not liking that he was tugging at my hair, and he smirked.

"Get up!"

I glared at him angrily and kicked him in the shin, he had no right to order _me_ around. He stumbled slightly, and I moved to my feet. I felt something hot spread across the left side of my face, moving down my left arm and leg. I felt so much stronger, chakra was surrounding me. I felt my eyes narrow into a glare, a smirk on my face. I did some quick handsigns, the shadows underneath him grabbing at him. He fought against the shadows, and I smirked in amusement. Now all I had to do was get to Orochimaru. I walked forward, grabbing his throat, trying to strangle him.

"Kidoumaru!" Jiroubou yelled, I chuckled.

"Oh, poor dear." I teased, tightening my grip on his throat. "Can't breathe? Aww, how upsetting. Perhaps I need to just stop it so it won't be such a struggle for you."

I heard some cracks in his throat when I squeezed harder, and Tayuya came running at me. I smirked sadistically, catching the punch she threw at me. I moved her wrist to where it cracked and chuckled.

"Damn it." she growled, I moved her arm in a direction it shouldn't have went…breaking it. She let out a yell of pain, and I turned my attention to Kidoumaru. "Hehe, so sorry I forgot about you."

I moved my leg up, crushing my foot into his ribs. I felt something slimy wrap around my neck, and I was thrown away from both the Sound shinobi. I felt the power I'd once had, disappearing, the thorn vine like marks moving off my skin.

"We have to get out of here." Sakon. I watched The Sound Four jumped off with Orochimaru, and I fell back on the roof.

'What the hell was that power…it felt like that same power Sasuke had. And that weird dream I'd had while I was unconscious…what the hell-'

"Are you alright?" I looked up to see a good four Anbu on the roof. I nodded, and one picked me up. "I'll take her to the hospital."

His companions nodded and walked over to the Hokage's body. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks at the thought of me not managing to protect the Hokage, and the Anbu walked towards the end of the roof.

"Don't be upset." he said softly "You did your best."

"I couldn't save him though." I whispered. "It was my duty, and I couldn't protect him."

"I hate saying this, but you couldn't have done anything else." he said.

I nodded sadly, and we finally arrived at the Konoha Hospital. He handed me over to some nurses, and they found a room for me to stay in until the doctor got here to examine me. I laid back on the bed and cried my eyes out. This was my fault, I wasn't able to protect my Hokage. This was all my fault. I had someone to protect, and I wasn't able to protect them. Why was I so weak? Why wasn't I able to do anything? Why had I allowed this to happen? I continued crying and heard the doors open. I looked up to see Kakashi walking into the room, he looked concerned about me. I looked back down and wiped at my eyes.

"Konnichiwa Sada." he greeted. I looked back at him and nodded.

"Hi Kakashi." I said quietly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. "Some Anbu said you fought against Orochimaru." I nodded and looked down.

"It wasn't enough, the Hokage's dead because of me." I whispered sadly.

"It wasn't your fault." he told me. "You tried your best." I nodded, and he smiled under his mask. "Sada…we're going to need to talk later but until then, would you like someone to come in here and wait with you?"

"Sasuke." I said immediately. He nodded and opened the door.

"He'll be here momentarily."

I nodded, and he walked out the door. I sniffed and wiped some dry blood off my knuckles. Why hadn't I been able to save the Hokage? I'd trained so hard, and yet, I wasn't able to save him. What was wrong with me? I heard the door open and looked up hopefully. There he was, my best friend in the entire world, Sasuke. I stared at him, and he stared right back. He didn't say anything as he closed the door and walked over to my bed. He stared down at me and finally sat on the bed next to me.

"Hi Sada-chan."

"Hi." I whispered.

He stared at me with little emotion on his face, but I knew that he cared. From all the time we'd spent together before he left, I knew that he cared about me. We just had that best friend emotional connection, and it was an amazing thing. I couldn't imagine my life without Sasuke, after he'd helped me open up a little about my parents and everything…he'd helped me more than he knew. I could tell that he was struggling with his emotions, just by the way his eyes were looking at me. I knew he'd been worried and concerned about me, he was such an amazing best friend. I looked down at the bed and finally took his hand in mine. I held his hand against my cheek and smiled slightly. It was so nice to have him here with me, to feel his skin against mine, just hearing his voice; I'd missed him so much. I opened my eyes and looked up into his. He was staring at me with a curious expression, and I smiled slightly.

"Gomen." I appologized, moving our hands away from my face. "I've just...missed you."

He nodded, looking like he agreed with me, and moved his other hand to my face. I didn't flinch like I usually would have when he touched my face, but I squeezed his hand, hoping that he'd understand I needed him here with me right now. He looked right into my eyes and finally moved his hand from my face. He slowly pulled me into a hug, and I snuggled into his warm embrace.

"I've missed you." he said quietly. I nodded and let tears I'd been holding in, fall down my face.

"It was so hard without you." I whispered. "Everything hurt so badly."

"I know." Sasuke said simply. "I understand. Don't cry anymore." I sniffed and wiped at my eyes.

"I can't help it." I whispered. "Everything was just so hard, everyone hating me and...Sasuke."

He nodded, not seeming like he understood what I was talking about. I knew I'd have to explain everything about that later. He placed his chin on top of my head, holding me close to him. We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything, just enjoying being together, but I finally remembered...Gaara.

"What happened with Gaara?" I asked, hoping he was alright. He sighed quietly and said

"Naruto defeated him and saved Sakura."

"Is he ok?" I inquired.

"Naruto went out cold, and Sakura's still out cold." Sasuke said, most likely not understanding who I meant "Those other shinobi on his team came and rescued him at the last moment." I nodded and closed my eyes happily. Thank god Gaara was alright, I didn't know what I would've done if I'd lost him. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding a little concerned. I shrugged and sighed.

"I don't have any broken bones or anything like that so I suppose I'm fine." I said quietly, not wanting to tell him about the marks that I'd experienced not too long ago. They were just like the ones that Sasuke had back in the Forest of Death, what was going on? "Just some minor injuries." I finished. He nodded, and I finally pulled back from him.

"I heard what happened with the Hokage." he told me. I looked at him sadly, and he pulled me back into the hug. "It's not your fault even though you think it is." I sniffed again and held my tears back. "Trust me."

"I do." I said automatically. Sasuke pulled me away from him slightly and looked right into my eyes.

"You've changed." he said quietly. "You...I don't know, but you've changed." I nodded to him and smiled slightly.

"I changed for the better." I said quietly. "I...want us to be closer." Sasuke looked at me curiously, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I feel like I could trust you with anything...I want you to know more about me." He nodded, seeming like he agreed to that, and held me closer to him.

"I want to tell you things about me as well." he said, sounding honest. "I would like us to be closer too." I smiled, happy that he felt the same way, and closed my eyes.

'I'm so lucky that I know Sasuke, arigato Haku. You sent me a new best friend, thanks old friend.'

**Author's Note: Poor Sada, I feel so bad for the poor dear. She's been through so much shit and now she thinks the Hokage's death is her fault...how awful...**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN_

_"Sada-chan are you ok?" Sasuke asked, sounding worried. I nodded and ran my fingers through my hair._

"Hai...I just remembered I forgot something at my house." I said quietly. "I'll be back, ok?" He nodded and sighed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. I shook my head, and he nodded again. "Alright...just be careful." I nodded and walked out of his house.


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven: Appreciation

I looked at myself in the mirror, adjusting my black dress before I pulled on my black wrist length gloves. Today was the Hokage's funeral, and even though I didn't know him that well I felt obligated to go. It's not that everyone had to go, but I felt like I had to. Like, something inside me was saying 'Sada, go to the Hokage's funeral. You have to.' so I was going to follow my instincts and go. I had about six white roses I was going to put down for him when I went up to say goodbye. I didn't know what everyone was going to think. I felt so guilty, like it was my fault for his death. I'd been there, but I wasn't able to save him. It really felt like my fault. Sasuke had told me it wasn't, but I still felt like it was. I sighed again and tried to clear my mind of all these depressing thoughts. I put a black ribbon in my hair and looked back at my dress. It was pure black of course, and it went down to the bottom of my ankles. It had a slit on the right side that went up to my mid-thigh, it was pretty, but the fact that I was wearing it for a funeral made it seem ugly. I sighed again and heard a knock at my door. I picked up the roses and opened the door. I smiled slightly seeing Sasuke standing there, and he smiled back.

He had offered to walk with me to the funeral and being the depressed person I was, I'd said yes. I really needed Sasuke right now, he was giving me the support I needed. At first that's all it was going to be, he was just going to walk me to the funeral. Then I just _had_ to start crying infront of him, and he didn't want me staying at my house alone. Yes, I was staying at Sasuke's house right now. He'd convinced me into it seeing as his house was a closer walk to where the funeral was taking place. He was worried as well and was mainly concerned about what would happen to me if I stayed alone. No, I would never, I repeat _never,_ kill myself. I'd thought about it, but I could never do something like that. And to answer another question, no, Sasuke and I were not together. We were best friends. Mainly all that had happened in the two days that I'd been here, was crying and comforting. We were going to the Hokage's funeral today so he was really worried about me. He didn't think I could handle the sadness, but as long as he was there with me, I could.

Before I had left the hospital, I'd had a pretty serious talk with Kakashi…about the marks that had been on my skin. He told me it was something called a curse mark, and there were two levels to it. I was at the first level, and he'd done some jutsu to seal it, and it'd hurt pretty badly. It'd been worth the pain to seal it away, but he told me that my will power had to stay strong or I'd lose control of it. He'd also told me Sasuke had the same curse mark as I had from Orochimaru. Kakashi had also sealed his away after his preliminary match, and that's why his chakra had changed the way it had back in the exams. Sasuke was having a difficult time controlling it though, according to Kakashi. I didn't think I'd have as a difficult time since I'd been trained under Zabuza, I was a pretty powerful shinobi after all…just not powerful enough to defeat Orochimaru.

"Are you ready to go?" Sasuke asked. I nodded and sighed sadly. "It's ok." He took my hand and hugged me tightly. "Don't cry, it's all going to be fine." I nodded and let him lead me down the hallway. We arrived in the kitchen, and he looked around for a moment. "Do you want anything to eat before we leave?"

"No, I'm fine." I whispered. He nodded, and we walked out of the house together. We walked down the street hand in hand, and I finally stopped. I didn't think I could do this…

"Sada-chan?" he questioned. I looked down, hating that I hadn't been able to protect the Hokage, and he hugged me again. "It's alright, be strong." I nodded and pulled back from the embrace.

"The sooner this is over the better." I whispered. He nodded and put his arm around me comfortingly.

"After this we can go back to my house and just talk, alright?"

I nodded, and we continued walking. We met Sakura and Naruto, and all of us walked there together. I knew they both were afraid of my techniques and all, but we were a team. Maybe this was a chance for us to bond all over again, and hopefully we could get passed all our differences; today was a horrible day that was filled with sadness. We shouldn't be hating each other. Just standing there, watching was just as bad as going towards the headstone. It hurt so badly for me...I felt so responsible. Everyone took turns going forward and putting down their flowers. Sasuke walked up with me, and I put my flowers down sadly. I stared at the stone for a moment, and Sasuke led me back towards the crowd. He knew that I was going to cry, I could tell...but he didn't say anything about it. He just stood there and held me while some old guy talked about the Hokage and how he would always be remembered. 'Hokage-sama...I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I truly am sorry.'

_ELSEWHERE_

Deidara sighed boredly and continued to stare up at the sky with a blank expression on his face. He was on his way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves with Kisame and Itachi at the moment. Pein had ordered that he go, despite Kisame's protests that the blonde would only get in the way of their mission. He had been over ruled in the end and was complaining about it half the trip. Deidara was glad that Pein had allowed him to go on this mission because he'd be able to bring Sada back to the headquarters with him. Well...Pein didn't know about that part, so Deidara had just decided to surprise him. He'd missed Sada so much these past few days and was so glad he'd be able to see her smiling face again. To continue with their journey, it was raining at the moment, and Kisame was complaining...as usual.

"Why the hell is it raining?" Kisame groaned for the billionth time that hour. Deidara looked over at him and rolled his blue eye.

"It's raining because it is. Just get over it, yeah?" Deidara said boredly. Kisame glared at the blonde with his beady eyes and adjusted his hat.

"Hmph, shut up kid." he ordered.

Deidara glared at the blue man, Kisame was trying to act so superior. So what if he'd joined the organization before Deidara had, that didn't mean he was more powerful. Deidara narrowed his eye, not liking how stuck up the swordsman was, and looked at Itachi.

"How do you put up with him Itachi-san, hm?" Deidara asked.

Itachi looked over at Deidara and glared coldly. Deidara sighed and looked away from the glaring Uchiha. The real question was, how did Kisame put up with Itachi? Deidara let another sigh pass through his parted lips, and the village finally came into view. Deidara stared at it, slightly shocked at it's appearance. How had the village gotten this torn up in just a few days time? He glanced over at his companions, and Kisame looked at the village boredly.

"Wonder what happened here." he muttered.

"It's falling apart." Itachi said in an emotionless tone. "I knew this village wasn't meant to last."

"You sound like you're slightly sad about that Itachi-san." Kisame said. Itachi's face lit up with a smirk, and he looked over at Kisame and Deidara.

"No, not sad." he told them. "Just a little surprised it didn't last longer." Kisame smirked in amusement, and Deidara shook his head.

"Should we go check it out before hand, hm?" he inquired. "I could use one of my birds." Itachi thought for a moment and finally nodded, moving his black bangs out of his eyes.

"No birds." he instructed. "Just find a way into the village, and see how torn up it is on the inside." Deidara nodded and said

"I'll meet you back here at dawn, yeah?" Itachi nodded and looked away from the village, not interested in staring at it anymore.

"Don't cause a disturbance Deidara-san." Kisame said. "That's my job." He smirked, and Deidara rolled his eye.

"Whatever un." he said, only half listening to what Kisame had said.

He walked down a set of stone steps. Once he got far enough away, he ditched his hat and cloak. 'I'll pick these up later.' He walked through the gates of the village and smiled slightly. 'I'm back, you better be waiting for me Sada.'

SASUKE'S HOUSE

I sighed quietly and looked over at Sasuke sitting beside me. The funeral was over now, and it had been so horrible. Well obviously it was horrible, it was a funeral. Funerals weren't good, everyone was crying and all sad. I felt so empty right now...so sad...so worthless. I had Sasuke and that was a good thing, but I still felt bad. I missed Deidara...I missed him alot. 'I wish he hadn't left. Why couldn't he have stayed? I thought he loved me, I thought he understood me…why did all this have to happen?' I felt tears start rolling down my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away. I didn't want Sasuke to see me crying...again. I sighed and got up from the couch.

"Sada-chan are you ok?" Sasuke asked, sounding worried. I nodded and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Hai...I just remembered I forgot something at my house." I said quietly. "I'll be back, ok?" He nodded and sighed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked. I shook my head, and he nodded again. "Alright...just be careful."

I nodded and walked out of his house. I walked down the street sadly and stared at the ground. No one was out of their houses right now, everyone was mourning for the loss of the Hokage. We all missed him, even those of us who hadn't known him as long as the others had. I felt a slight breeze blow passed me, and I rubbed my arms. It even seemed as if the heavens were upset about the Hokage's death. It'd rained earlier, and now it was starting to get windy...oh joy. I sighed and continued walking down the street, thinking about everything that had happened that afternoon. Everyone was so sad, so depressed, so empty feeling. I had a chance, I could've saved the Hokage but I wasn't able to. I'd failed as a shinobi, I'd failed to save the leader of my village. I felt so...worthless.

I took a breath and attempted to clear my mind of all these depressing thoughts. I wasn't able to keep my mind from the Hokage though. This village...it was never going to be the same. Never again would the people be able to see their Hokage, the Third Hokage. Of course he'd be replaced, but no one was ready to think about that right now. We all wanted the one thing we could not have, our Third Hokage, Sarutobi. I took a breath and tried to hold in my tears. Today was just horrible. I sniffed, and then...bam! Downpour.

"Great, just great." I muttered.

I ran down the streets of the village and finally made it to the safety of my house. I fumbled with my keys for a second and stumbled into my house drenched. I quickly closed the door and moved my wet hair off my face. 'My house is going to be drenched by the time I make it to my bedroom.' I sighed and dropped my keys on a side table. I looked around my house for a second and threw off my wet shoes. I walked through my house drenched and freezing before I made it to my bedroom. I flipped my light switch and shook my head when the lights didn't come on. 'The electric's out.' I sighed quietly and walked out of my room to the kitchen. I looked through a few drawers until I came across some matches and looked around for a couple of candles. I lit a few candles and put them all over the house. I picked up the largest one and shivered slightly; it was so cold in here.

I walked back to my bedroom and set the candle on my dresser. I rubbed my arms and heard a movement in the corner of my room. I took a breath and bit my lower lip. 'Someone's in here. What to do, I don't have any weapons handy.' I chewed on my lower lip in thought and finally grabbed my hairbrush. I took a deep breath and threw it across the room. It hit something, and I ran out of my room. I skid to a stop and turned the corner. I ran down the hallway and head for the door. 'Almost there.' I felt something close around my wrist and pull me backwards. I gasped and collided with something-someone. I gasped again and closed my eyes. 'Please don't let them hurt me, please.' I bit my lower lip again and felt their arms go around my waist.

"What's wrong love hm?" I gasped and opened my eyes.

'Was that just...'

"D-Deidara?" I questioned.

"Who else hm?" he asked with a chuckle. I smiled and touched his face. I couldn't see him, but I didn't care. He was back, Deidara was back. "You're freezing...and wet. What happened love?"

"Rain." I whispered. He chuckled again and buried his nose in my hair. He didn't even care that he was going to get wet.

"I missed you love." he whispered.

"I missed you too Dei." I said quietly. "Why'd you leave? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"I did yeah." he said with a confused tone. "I left you a note un." He'd left me a note? So he did care about me...where'd he leave it at?

"Where'd you put it?" I asked.

"The most obvious place." he said, chuckling a little. "The cookie jar." I giggled and smiled, of course he thought that was obvious.

"The cookie jar?" I repeated. He nodded, and I smiled again. "That's not obvious for me Deidara-kun."

"Oh." I giggled, and he chuckled again. "Gomen Sada-chan, maybe I should have left it somewhere else, yeah." I nodded in agreement and buried my face in his chest. "Come on, let's go back to your room un. You really need to get out of those clothes."

I nodded, and we walked down the hallway to my room. The candle I had left in there was still going so I had a chance to see Deidara's face. I looked back at him, and he smiled. He was just the same as I remembered, absolutely the same. His beautiful blonde hair, his amazing blue eyes, he was still just so perfect. He chuckled and put his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.

"You're exactly the same as I remembered yeah." he said quietly. I nodded and pulled back slightly so I could stare at his face.

"You don't know...how hard it was without you." I whispered.

"I do know." he said softly "I know that it hurt because it hurt me so badly. Just being away from you was torture, thinking about you made me so...I can't put it into any words besides that it hurt yeah."

I nodded, agreeing with him, and he stroked my cheek with his fingers tips. Shit this wasn't good, skin contact was bad for me. After I had released my mental blocks, the day after, I began feeling the aftereffects of it; I couldn't make skin contact with people anymore without stealing their chakra. That's why I was wearing gloves now, I was terrified of my chakra stealing ability now. But with Deidara touching my face, I could feel the chakra flowing into me from his fingertips. I didn't want to hurt him so I moved out of his touch but still stared into his eyes. He brought his face closer to mine and stopped.

"Can I?" he asked.

Even though I couldn't make skin contact without hurting him, I had to kiss him...just once. I'd missed him so much, and I knew that from how much my abilities had improved since I was a child…I could make skin contact with him for a good ten minutes before I killed him. I'd have to make sure that it didn't go that far though, maybe five minutes worth of kissing wouldn't hurt.

I nodded to him, and he softly pressed his lips against mine. I smiled happily and locked my arms around his neck. He pulled me closer and moved my wet hair away from my face. I kissed him harder and knotted my fingers in his hair. I hadn't thought if Deidara would be uncomfortable with this sudden change, but he didn't seem it. In the past week that I hadn't been with him, I'd just realized how much I cared about him, and I wanted always be with him. I'd changed slightly, I knew I had. That might have been the reason I was being so forward with the kissing, but he was more than willing to comply to this sudden change.

He ran his hand down my arm and kept the other around my waist. This time when I felt his tongue lick my lower lip I didn't pull back, but I ended up being more forward then I should've been. I pushed him against the wall and kept my lips connected to his. I moaned softly, and he pulled out of the kiss. Maybe I shouldn't have been as forward. He stared at me for a second and finally moved around to where I was against the wall instead. I bit my lower lip and smiled feeling his soft lips against my forehead. He kissed down the side of my face, my cheek, my nose; I stared at him impatiently. I wanted him to kiss me, but he was just taking his time deciding to tease me instead. He placed butterfly kisses down my neck, and I moved my hands away from his hair. I was going to attempt to pull him into a surprise kiss, but he caught my hands before I could even get to that part.

"Stop being impatient, yeah?" he whispered softly. I chewed my lower lip impatiently and let a sigh escape my lips.

"If you would stop teasing me then I wouldn't be impatient." I said quietly. He chuckled and kissed the side of my face again. "Dei please." He stopped and looked right into my eyes. "Please kiss me again." He smiled softly and pressed his lips back against mine. I smiled and tried pulling my hands back from his. He pulled away from my lips again and shook his head. "Nande?"

"Because, yeah." he said simply. I giggled slightly and rolled my eyes amused. He was still teasing me, and it was starting to get rather annoying.

"Just let me touch your face." I whispered. "Please."

He smiled again and moved my left hand to his face. I smiled and ran my gloved fingers down the side of his face. He was still so handsome, just so perfect. He lightly kissed my lips again and finally let go of my hands. He backed away, and I stared at him confused.

"Deidara-kun?" I questioned.

"I'll be waiting in the kitchen, ok? Get out of those wet clothes, yeah?"

I sighed and nodded in agreement. He walked out of my room, closing the door behind him, and I quickly changed clothes. I didn't want to be away from him for more than ten seconds. I ran down the hallway and into the kitchen. Deidara was sitting at the table looking over something. He looked back at me and smiled.

"Come here Sada love." I walked over to him and sat down on his lap. "I left this for you." he said, holding up a note. "Don't read it unless I have to leave, and you can't come with me, un." I nodded and took the note from him. "Now here comes the next part...will you come with me hm?" I looked at him curiously and finally said

"Where to?" He softly stroked my cheek and sighed.

"This organization I'm in, that's where we'd go." I nodded and thought for a second, while inconspicuously moving out of his touch. I wanted to go with Deidara, but I had some things I had to take care of here before I could.

"I wish I could...but I can't." I whispered. "I have some things I have to take care of." He sighed disappointed and nodded.

"I understand I suppose." he said quietly. I leaned my head on his shoulder, happy that he was wearing a shirt that would keep me from making skin contact with him, and quickly kissed his cheek.

"Deidara-kun, I love you." I whispered. "I want to go with you, I wish I could...but I can't." He nodded and brought out what looked like a map.

"This will lead you to where I'm at, ok? Follow it and come to me whenever you can...hm?" he asked of me. I nodded and took the map from him.

"So does this mean you're leaving again?" I asked quietly. Deidara nodded and looked over at the wall, he didn't seem like he wanted to leave me.

"I want to stay, but I can't." he said sadly. "I love you, and I want to be with you all the time...but I have some things that I have to do yeah." It sounded like we both had things we had to do, I understood that...it hurt, but I understood it. "I'll stay with you tonight yeah."

"Really?" I asked, happy that he wasn't going to leave me yet. He nodded, and I smiled.

"Demo...I'll be gone when you wake up." he said softly. I looked down sadly, and he kissed the top of my head. "Don't cry love."

"I won't for you." I promised.

He smiled, and I closed my eyes happily. He was back, my Deidara was here with me. He was leaving, but he'd come back to tell me he loved me. He wasn't upset over my kekkei genkai, he loved me for me. I couldn't wait to get everything worked out here, once I did…I could stay with Deidara forever.

**_Author's Note: Yay! Deidara and Sada are finally reuinted. Love is such a beautiful thing *dramatic sigh*_**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT_

_"Konnichiwa?"_

_"Sada-chan. Why didn't you come back to my house? I was worried." I smiled slightly and hugged him back._

_"Gomen." I whispered "The storm just got really bad, and I wasn't thinking you'd worry. Forgive me." He pulled back from the hug and smiled at me._

_"You've already been forgiven." he told me. I nodded, and he took my hand. "Come on, do you want to get some tea?" I nodded in agreement and smiled sweetly._

_"I'd like that alot." I replied._


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight: Conflict

Deidara opened his eyes and smiled at Sada. She was still sleeping and looked as beautiful as an angel. He'd missed her so much, he hated having to leave her again. This time she knew where he was though, and she could come to him whenever she finished with all the stuff she had to do. Then they could stay at the Akatsuki hideout together and not worry about being apart because he was an S-Ranked Criminal and she was just a Chunin. Yes, he'd snuck into the Records room and found out they were making Sada a Chunin. He was so proud of her, he knew she'd make it. Now the only thing that could stop their relationship was the idiots in this village. He hated how complicated all this was. He sighed quietly and pulled her slightly closer to him, trying not to wake her up. He buried his nose in her hair and rubbed her arm with his thumb. It was going to destroy him to leave her again...but he had to. Itachi and Kisame were waiting, and if he wasn't there by sunrise he was dead. He finally sat up and looked down at Sada again. She looked so peaceful and even though he wanted to say goodbye, he just couldn't make himself wake her up. He leaned down next to her ear and whispered

"Sada-chan, I love you."

She smiled in her sleep, and he chuckled to himself. He gently kissed her forehead and quietly walked out of her room. He walked down the hallway and sighed sadly. 'I'll miss you love.' He exited the house and walked down the streets with a look of sadness on his face. 'Why can't I just stay? Why does all this have to be so complicated? I've finally found the girl I never thought I'd find, and I can't stay with her. Why does this have to be happening?' He shook his head, slightly annoyed, and walked through the gates of the village. He put on his cloak and hat and walked back up the stone steps to Kisame and Itachi. They were both standing at the railing, staring at the village. Kisame looked over hearing his footsteps and smirked.

"You're back I see." he stated. Deidara nodded and stood beside him boredly.

"What's the inside like?" Itachi asked with no emotion.

"It's really torn up, yeah." Deidara explained. "The buildings are all falling down, and the streets are a complete mess. I heard people talking, and they were cursing Orochimaru un." Itachi's cold look turned colder, and Kisame spit on the ground.

"That damned snake." he muttered. Deidara nodded in agreement, he hated that snake as much as Kisame and Itachi. He continued staring at the village, and Itachi finally said

"At least we won't have to worry about the village being on ultimate defense. It's not in top condition, so I suppose Orochimaru helped us in an...unintentional way." Kisame snickered, and Deidara rolled his eye.

"Hear anything else that sounded interesting?" Kisame asked. Deidara nodded and moved his blonde bangs aside.

"Their Hokage is dead." Itachi didn't even flinch, and Kisame chuckled.

"Dead?" he repeated. Deidara nodded and sighed boredly.

"Apparently Orochimaru killed him, yeah." Itachi said nothing, and Kisame smirked.

"They're completely defenseless without their Hokage, we should just attack the village itself. Have a little fun." Kisame said with a evil glint in his eyes.

"No." Itachi said, still his voice held no emotion. "We are here to capture the nine-tailed, and that's exactly what we're going to do." Kisame's eyes narrowed like he was annoyed, but he said nothing. "If chance should come that we may fight then we'll take it, it's too tempting to turn down." Kisame smirked again, and Deidara rolled his eye.

"So do we head out, or what hm?" he inquired.

Itachi didn't reply and walked passed the blonde, his Sharingan eyes were now activated. Kisame followed Itachi without hesitation, and Deidara crossed his fingers. 'Please don't let me bump into Sada, please.'

_SADA'S HOUSE_

I opened my eyes and yawned tiredly. What had happened last night? I sat up and rubbed my eyes. 'Matte...Deidara!' I smiled and looked over to my right...he wasn't there. I sighed quietly and looked down sadly. I'd hoped Deidara would've stayed even though he said he'd be gone when I woke up. Maybe...he hadn't been here. Perhaps it'd just been a dream or something along those lines. I sighed and swung around. I set my feet on the ground and stood up. I put my hands in my pockets and gasped. I pulled out the note and map he had given to me. 'It wasn't a dream then. He really was here.' I smiled to myself and heard banging on my door. 'Who could that be?' I walked out of my bedroom, trying to fix my messy hair, and down the hallway. I came to my front door and opened it, still half asleep.

"Konnichiwa?"

"Sada-chan." Someone hugged me, and I freaked a little. "Why didn't you come back to my house?" Oh, nevermind. It was just Sasuke. "I was worried." I smiled slightly and hugged him back.

"Gomen." I whispered "The storm just got really bad, and I wasn't thinking you'd worry. Forgive me." He pulled back from the hug and smiled at me.

"You've already been forgiven." he told me. I nodded, and he took my hand. "Come on, do you want to get some tea?" I nodded in agreement and smiled sweetly.

"I'd like that alot." I replied.

He nodded, and we walked down the street together. Sasuke was still holding my hand as we walked down the street, but I didn't see why it was a big deal. Deidara wasn't here, and Sasuke was just my best friend. He'd helped me through so much, and he was still helping me. Just holding his hand made me feel happy, like nothing could put me down. I looked over at Sasuke, and he glanced in my direction seeing my eyes on him.

"You're smiling alot." he noted. "Are you feeling better then you were yesterday?" I nodded, giggling a little, and hugged his arm.

"Hai." I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he looked at me curiously. "I'm always happy when I'm with you Sasuke-kun. You're my best friend."

He smiled slightly and ran his fingers through my hair. I smiled and straightened up slightly, trying to make sure I didn't make skin contact with him, it was a good thing I still had my gloves on. Sasuke stopped, and I looked at him curiously.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Kakashi." he muttered. I looked up and sighed seeing the bird flying around. "What does he want?"

"You can go ahead and find him. I'll meet you at the Dango shop, ok?" I said quietly. Sasuke looked at me and shook his head.

"No, this is our time together. Kakashi can just get over it." Sasuke said annoyed.

I smiled at Sasuke's loyalty, and we continued walking down the street together. I couldn't believe he was willing to ignore our sensei just so he could spend time with me. He was such an awesome best friend, I was so lucky to have him always standing by my side. We finally made it to Dango Shop, and I saw Kakashi standing there talking to Asuma and Kurenai.

"Great." Sasuke muttered, he didn't sound very pleased. I sighed in disappointment, hating that Kakashi was interrupting our best friend hanging out time, and Kakashi smiled at us.

"Konnichiwa Sasuke, Sada." I nodded for my greeting, and Sasuke sighed.

"What gives?" he asked, his eyes slightly narrowed into a glare. "You're never early."

"Sometimes I am." Kakashi said with another smile. I smiled slightly, not wanting to believe that Kakashi could be early, and Sasuke sighed again. "So...let's talk."

"Later." Sasuke said, his annoyed tone wasn't hard to miss. "Right now I'm spending time with Sada-chan." I smiled slightly, happy at how loyal he was, and squeezed his hand.

"If it's important then go ahead and talk to him. I'll just go find someone to talk to until you're done." I said quietly. He shook his head and led me into the restraunt by the hand.

"We'll talk later Kakashi." Sasuke said.

I sighed, knowing how stubborn Sasuke could be, and looked over hearing a bell ring. There were three men sitting at a table together. They all had hats on with bells, and they wore black cloaks that had a red cloud design on them. 'I like the cloaks, they're pretty cool looking. And the bells are pretty cool, that could definitely entertain me for hours.' Sasuke sat down on the inside of our seat, and I sat on the outside. I was still curious about these men, that might've been the reason I sat on the outside.

"So what do you want?" I looked over at Sasuke and shrugged.

"I don't care, you pick." I said quietly. He smiled slightly and entwined our fingers. I smiled at the gesture and he put his arm around me, pulling me to lean my head on his shoulder.

"It looks as if Sasuke's found his soulmate." Asuma said to Kakashi. I felt my cheeks go warm and looked down slightly embarrassed. I didn't see Sasuke that way, why couldn't people just get it through their skulls that we were just friends?

"Don't pay any attention to them alright?" I smiled at Sasuke, and he moved my bangs out of my eyes. "Why do you hide yourself this way?" he asked, staring down into my eyes.

I sighed, knowing what he meant by that, and he moved his fingers down my cheek. He was staring into my eyes, and he was so focused with just staring at me; I didn't really think either of us were paying attention to what was going on around us. We stared at each other all the time like this, but what made it start to seem uncomfortable was when he cupped my cheek with his hand and leaned in closer to my face. This is something I had been afraid of since the day I figured out Sasuke liked me; I was afraid that he'd attempt to kiss me, and the thing was...I wasn't able to stop him from it. Our lips were so close now, yet I couldn't get the word 'stop' to come out of my mouth. So close, so incredibly close, they were lightly brushing against each other. All he had to do was move a little more and- 'A cough.' I moved backwards in embarrassment, and Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

"Fine, I'm coming." he said angrily. We got up, and I smiled slightly.

"I'll see you later, ok?"

Sasuke nodded, and we walked out of the Dango shop together. 'Where did those men go?' I sighed to myself and began walking around the village. After about fifteen minutes of walking around the village I was as bored as ever, there was nothing to do. I sighed again and looked over hearing Naruto talking to Jiraiya. Well...more like complaining in loud way. He apparently didn't want to go somewhere with him, oh well. It wasn't my business. I continued walking down the street, and an Anbu jumped infront of me.

"You're Sada, correct?" he asked. I nodded, and he said

"The Elders of the village have asked me to inform you, that before he died, the Hokage made his wishes known that you were to become Chunin." I nodded and smiled slightly.

"Arigato for letting me know."

He nodded and disappeared from sight. I sighed and kept walking. 'Wow...I'm a Chunin. I've got to tell Sasuke.' I ran down the street and looked around, wondering where he would be. 'Perhaps the river, he does go there to think alot.' I nodded to myself and smiled a bit. I turned the corner and looked down the dirt path. Sasuke wasn't there but some people were. Two of them were the men wearing the black cloaks with red clouds, and Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi. They were all standing on the river, it looked like there had been a fight at some point. Kakashi had pushed himself up from the water and was staring at the two men.

"Is it Sasuke?" he asked. The man with the black hair stared at Kakashi and said

"No."

'They're after someone? Who could they be after?' The man with the black hair looked over to the left and his red eyes fell on me. 'He looks like...Sasuke. His eyes...they're Sharingan.' I stared back at him, and his partner looked over at me as well.

"She looks familiar Itachi-san." he said. The one called Itachi nodded and finally moved his eyes back to Kakashi.

"You're after Naruto, aren't you?" Kakashi asked. Itachi said nothing, and Kakashi took a breathe. "What was the name of that organization you're in...Akatsuki, wasn't it?" 'Akatsuki? What's that?'

"Kisame, we're taking Kakashi-san with us. Make the other two disappear."

Kisame smirked and ran towards them with some huge sword. 'What a second, that's the same-hada! Zabuza mentioned it when I was with him and Haku, he's one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.' I gulped, and Gai came out of nowhere. He instructed Kurenai to take Kakashi to a medical squad and for Asuma to cover him.

"We'll hold them off until the Anbu get here." Gai said to Asuma.

"Kisame, stop. This fighting is unnecessary. We're leaving." Itachi said.

"And I was just starting to get excited." Kisame complained. "Demo, oh well." Itachi looked over in my direction again, and the Jounin followed his gaze this time.

"Sada." Kurenai whispered, sounding shocked.

Itachi and Kisame disappeared into the trees, and I ran back in the direction of the village. If these two were after Naruto, I had to find him and warn him of the danger. Yeah, we hadn't really made up, but he was my teammate. I couldn't let him get hurt or anything. 'He's probably at Ichiraku's right now.' I ran to the ramen shop and said

"Where's Naruto?" The old man looked at me and smiled.

"He went off with Jiraiya." he told me. "They went into the little town-"

"Arigato." I said quickly.

I ran off down the street and started looking around for Sasuke. That man...Itachi...he looked just like an older version of Sasuke. He had the Sharingan as well...could they be related? I turned the corner and ran right into Sasuke.

"Sada-chan, are you ok?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Sasuke-kun, thank goodness I found you. There's some men in the village, and they're after Naruto." I said quickly.

"Nani?" he asked.

"One of them, he has Sharingan." I stated. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger, and he nodded.

"We have to find Naruto." he said.

"This way, I know where he's heading." I instructed. He nodded, and we ran down the streets of the village and out the gates. We ran and ran and ran, until we finally came to where Naruto should be. "Let's check the hotels." I advised.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, and we went all over the place searching hotels, asking if anyone had seen Naruto and Jiraiya. We finally found the place where they were staying and ran up the stairs quickly.

"We have to have a plan." Sasuke said with no emotion. "I'll attack first using Chidori, and you rescue Naruto."

"No way, I'm not leaving you to fight these guys by yourself. There's three of them, you'll never win." I stated, hating how he was so stubborn.

"I'm only focused on one." he said angrily. "Itachi."

'Sasuke must have some grudge against this Itachi guy, what happened to him that makes him hate Itachi so much?' We turned the corner and stopped seeing three men standing outside the door where Naruto was staying. Naruto was already out in the hallway staring at Itachi with a look of terror on his face.

"We don't want him running off, perhaps we should chop off a leg." Kisame said with a smirk. I looked passed Kisame and stared at the other man leaning against the wall. He had long blonde hair, and his bangs were covering his left eye...

'Deidara! What's he doing here?'

"It's been a while...Sasuke." Itachi said.

"Uchiha Itachi." Sasuke muttered.

I looked over at Sasuke and back at Itachi. 'They're so similar, they have so many resemblances.' Itachi's eyes moved from Sasuke to me, and I stared at him. 'He really does resemble Sasuke.'

"This is the second time today I've seen a Sharingan user. Who is this guy?" Kisame asked. Deidara looked over, and his eye widened seeing me standing there.

"He's my younger brother." Itachi said. I stared at Itachi, slightly shocked that he was Sasuke's older brother, and looked over at Sasuke. He was glaring at Itachi with such hatred, what had happened with them?

"I heared the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out..." Kisame said with a smirk. Sasuke's glare deepened, and he said

"I've lived for this day, I'm going to kill you." Chidori appeared in his hand, and I moved aside slightly.

"Sasuke-kun."

He ran down the hallway, smashing the side of the building with Chidori, and tried hitting Itachi with it. There was a blinding flash of light, and I looked to see Itachi had stopped Chidori. 'How is that possible? He's so powerful.' Naruto started focusing his chakra, and I smiled slightly. 'He hasn't given up.'

"Too late." Kisame said, slicing through Naruto's chakra. I gasped, and Sasuke screamed. I looked over towards Itachi and saw he'd broken Sasuke's wrist.

'I have to do something.' I took a step forward and felt someone grab me from behind.

"Let me go!"

"Sh!"

'Deidara.'

"Calm down love, I'm not going to hurt you, yeah." he whispered. "I'll write you after this is over and explain everything, I promise yeah." I relaxed slightly but kept trying to get out of his grasp. Naruto and Sasuke needed me right now, they were my teammates. "I love you yeah." I nodded slightly and whispered

"I love you too, gomen."

I elbowed him hard in the ribs, and in that small moment of surprise for him, I managed to slip out of his arms. I ran down the hallway towards Sasuke and Naruto. Itachi and Kisame looked in my direction, and Kisame smirked.

"I hope the little girl knows how to dodge." he said amused.

I glared, and when he slashed at me, I phased through the same-hada. I could just imagine their shocked faces, but I kept going. I grabbed Naruto and Sasuke's arms and pushed them through the floor. I phased through it after them and landed in a heap on the ground.

"Itai." I mumbled.

"Sada, how did you-" Naruto started.

"No time to explain, just get up." I said quickly. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet, most likely thinking it was some jutsu shinobi used on a daily basis. "Sasuke-kun, get up." I helped Sasuke to his feet, and he looked at me curiously.

"Arigato." I nodded, and we ran down the hallway.

"We can't stop, we have to get out of here. That blue guy is one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, his sword eats chakra. That's what it did to you Naruto." I told him. Naruto nodded, not seeming like he understood the concept that well, and we continued running down the hallway.

"Which way should we go?" Naruto asked.

"Left." Sasuke replied.

We nodded and got ready to go left. We skid to a stop seeing Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara come left and right. We were surrounded. 'My chakra is getting low from the phasing, but if I can get Naruto and Sasuke out of here…then I guess my last bit of chakra is worth it.' We backed into the wall and stared at them surrounding us.

"Now the real question is, should I chop off their legs or arms." Kisame said with an evil smirk.

I looked over at Itachi once and glanced at Deidara. He looked slightly worried, he didn't think I could take care of myself. Well, I'd show him how much I'd changed since he left. I grabbed Naruto and Sasuke's hand and pulled them backwards before pushing them through the wall. 'They should be outside the building now, hopefully they can get away.' I quickly turned around and stared at the shinobi standing around me.

"How is she doing that?" Kisame pondered.

Itachi continued staring at me and finally walked closer. I attempted to phase through the wall, but when I phased other people it took alot of my chakra away so I couldn't phase; I was trapped. Itachi stood right infront of me and stared down at me. I bit my lower lip, and Deidara said

"Itachi-san, I really see no point in hurting the girl. She hasn't done anything to us, yeah."

'He's trying to help.'

"Hurting the girl isn't my intention." Itachi said. "Leader-sama would be interested in what she can do, we're taking her with us."

My mind went blank, and I stared at him slightly terrified. He wanted to take me with them? What was I supposed to do? I brought my fist back and attempted to punch him. He easily caught it and slammed my arm against the wall. I stopped myself from letting out the gasp of pain and stared at him with as little emotion as I could muster.

"Itachi-san, I don't see what exactly leader-sama would be interested in, yeah." Deidara said, staring at me. Itachi never took his eyes from mine when he said

"She can go through things Deidara, that's something leader-sama would be interested in."

"I agree with Itachi-san." Kisame said. "I've never heard of anything like this before."

"My sources have also told me Orochimaru is also after this girl." Itachi said with no emotion "If she's valuable enough that Orochimaru wants her, she must have power; we are taking her with us."

I moved my other hand to punch him, and he grabbed that one as well. He slammed it against the wall above my head and closed his eyes. He focused for a moment and slowly opened his eyes.

"Mangekyou Sharingan." Everything seemed to go still for a moment, and I looked around. I was in an entirely different world, it was so dark in here; what was this place? "Tsukiyomi."

I gasped and quickly turned around, Itachi was standing there, staring at me with an emotionless face. I walked backwards and felt something stab my side. I gasped and bit my lip. 'This isn't real, it's genjutsu, that's all.' I took a breath, and he stabbed me again. I scrunched my nose and held in the scream I wanted to let out.

"You don't scream, scream." I glared at him and bit the inside of my jaw, I wasn't screaming for anyone. He stabbed me again, and I let out a gasp of pain.

'This doesn't seem like any ordinary genjutsu.'

"It's because it's not." Itachi said coldly.

I looked towards Itachi and attempted to get up to run. I couldn't move, I was trapped. I felt my heart racing, and it seemed to be getting harder to breathe. He grabbed my hair and ran a kunai along my neck, cutting through the skin but luckily not the vein. I whimpered, and he gave me an emotionless look.

"Here I control space, time, everything." he said with the same emotionless tone.

I stared up at him as he continued stabbing me and torturing me, trying to keep in the scream I wanted to let out. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. Everything slowly began dissolving, and I heard

"She doesn't scream." I opened my eyes slowly and looked to see nothing had changed. It looked as if no one had even moved; what had happened? Had Itachi been serious? "You know you shouldn't use those eyes too much Itachi-san." Kisame said.

He ignored Kisame and continued staring down at me. My knees felt so weak, that world really messed me up. He let go of my wrists, and I dropped to the ground. I stared up at them dazed, and Itachi said

"Let's go. Grab the girl."

"Don't even try it!"

'Sasuke?' Itachi punched Sasuke, and he went flying across the room. I glanced up, even though it hurt to do so, and watched as Sasuke and Itachi battled. Well...it wasn't really a battle. Sasuke was losing, he was losing very badly.

"Hang on Sada. We'll save you."

'Naruto?'

"Pervy sage, help them." The entire room became covered in some nasty looking stuff, and Itachi stopped fighting Sasuke.

"Deidara, Kisame come. Grab the girl Kisame." Itachi ordered. Kisame nodded and started towards me. He stopped and looked around at Jiraiya's jutsu surrounding the room.

"Kuso." he cursed. "We don't have a chance to get out of here with her." They ran down the hallway, turned the corner, and somehow they managed to escaped.

"Sada!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto." I mumbled. He knelt beside me, and I looked up at him. "Help Sasuke-kun." He nodded and ran down the hallway towards Sasuke. I felt my eyes close, and relaxed all my muscles. I felt so tired, and weak. Maybe I could close my eyes…just for a second.

**_Author's Note: GAH! Noooo, now she knows he's a bad guy...where will this take their relationship????_**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER TWENTY NINE_

_I stared at Sasuke for a moment and let out a sigh a depression. Why did this have to happen? Why was I awake and Sasuke wasn't? I heard the door open again, but I didn't look over there. I didn't care who had just walked in, this was my time with Sasuke._

_"Sasuke-kun." I whispered. "Gomen...I wasn't able to protect you. Forgive me...please forgive me." I felt tears falling down my face but didn't move. I didn't care if I was crying right now. "Gomen, gomen, gomen." The door closed, and I looked over to see Sakura walking away. I looked back at Sasuke and put his hand on my cheek. "I'm truly am sorry."_


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine: Awareness

_FLASHBACK_

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I looked around for a moment, slightly dazed, and my vision finally went back to normal. I was in a white room, it looked like a hospital room. I looked down at the bed I was in and nodded to myself. Yeah, I was in a hospital room most definitely. I looked up at the door and finally down at my arm. There was an IV in it, I hated needles. I pulled it out and set it on the bedside table. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and pulled the covers off myself. I was in a pair of black sweats and a black tanktop. I didn't remember putting these on but oh well. I set my feet on the tile floor and slowly stood up. I looked around for a moment, and something clicked in my head. Was Sasuke ok? I ran out of my room and down the right side of the hallway. I looked through the glass in tons of rooms and went back down towards the left side after a few seconds. I ran passed a nurse, and she looked at me curiously.

"Miss?" I ignored her and continued looking in each room. "Miss you shouldn't be out of bed." she said, running over to me. I ignored her and finally found Sasuke's room. "Miss, you need rest."

"Go away!" I shouted.

I ran inside his room and over to the bed. I looked down at Sasuke and bit down on my lower lip. He didn't look like he was sleeping, he looked like he was in pain. What was wrong with him? 'Matte...did Itachi do to Sasuke what he did to me?' I dropped to the floor and held my head. Why had this happened? Why wasn't I able to protect Sasuke? Why couldn't I protect anyone? I looked up slightly and put my hand on his...I needed to have skin contact with him…just for a minute. 'Sasuke...'

"Miss, you need to be in your room." a man said. I ignored him as well and laid my head beside his hand. I sniffed slightly and moved his hand over to my face. "Miss, trust me when I say you still need rest."

"Then I'll rest here!" I shouted, glaring at him. He backed away slightly, and I laid my head back down.

"Of course." he said. "I'll come back to check up on you."

I stared at Sasuke for a moment and let out a sigh a depression. Why did this have to happen? Why was I awake and Sasuke wasn't? I heard the door open again, but I didn't look over there. I didn't care who had just walked in, this was my time with Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun." I whispered. "Gomen...I wasn't able to protect you. Forgive me...please forgive me." I felt tears falling down my face but didn't move. I didn't care if I was crying right now. "Gomen, gomen, gomen." The door closed, and I looked over to see Sakura walking away. I looked back at Sasuke and put his hand on my cheek. "I'm truly am sorry."

_END FLASHBACK_

I sighed quietly and looked over at Sasuke. He was still in the hospital and hadn't woken up in a month and a half. This really was all my fault, I knew it was. If I hadn't told Sasuke about how Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara were after Naruto this wouldn't have happened to him. He would still be awake, and I wouldn't have to feel so guilty. I probably could've saved Naruto on my own but no, I just had to tell Sasuke about it. Now he was suffering because of my bad judgment, why couldn't I keep my mouth shut?

A few days after I had woken up, Sakura came in and told me that Naruto and Jiraiya had left in hopes of finding a woman named Tsunade. She was apparently a very powerful medical shinobi and was going to be our Hokage if they found her. Sakura told me that people were saying she'd be able to help Sasuke and Kakashi, and I hoped so. I couldn't stand it if Sasuke would never wake up. It would destroy me...I needed my best friend, I really did. Sakura had gotten better around me now. Since Sasuke and Kakashi were out cold and Naruto was gone, we were all that each other had. Sakura didn't visit Sasuke and me that often though. About once every two or three days, she'd come in to see if Sasuke had woken up. When she found out he wasn't, she'd stay for an hour or so then leave. I spent all my time at Sasuke's side. Even though he wasn't awake, I couldn't leave him alone. I just couldn't I felt so responsible for this, and I was trying my best to make up for it.

I sighed again and tore my eyes away from Sasuke's face to the door. I usually didn't do that, but I had heard sounds. Things that sounded like footsteps and voices, rather loud voices. I stared at the door and finally two women walked in. One had blonde hair pulled back in pigtails and the other had black hair. Both women looked like they were in their twenties so they were rather young, who were they? I stared at them for a moment and finally Jiraiya and Naruto came in a few seconds later.

"Sada, you're awake!" Naruto shouted, sounding surprised.

"Who are they?" I asked, feeling a little protective of Sasuke.

"Tsunade." the blonde replied. "And this is Shizune."

"What do you want?" I asked, not able to stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

"I'm here to heal your friend." she said with a slightly impatient tone "Now move." I looked at Sasuke for a second and finally got up from his bed. I moved aside, and she walked over to him. Naruto came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry Sada, Tsunade-baasan will heal Sasuke, and he'll be fine." he said with a grin. I nodded, hoping that this Tsunade woman would be able to do just that, and looked back at Sasuke. Sakura walked in a few seconds later, and I smiled seeing his eyes slowly open.

"Sasuke-kun." I ran back over to the bed and hugged him. "Sasuke, I'm sorry, so sorry. It was my fault you ended up this way."

"Sada-chan?" he whispered. I looked up at him, and he wiped at my tears shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault, I promise." I sniffed and buried my face in his shirt.

"Gomen." I whispered again. He moved into a sitting position, pulling me close to him, and Tsunade said

"Well...my work is done."

"What about Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. She groaned and began walking out of the room.

"Fine. Him too." I looked up at Sasuke, and he smiled slightly.

"Please stop crying. It wasn't your fault." he said softly.

"I felt like it was." I said quietly.

"It wasn't though." I smiled again and laid my head against his shoulder.

"You'll be ready to leave the hospital in a few days." Tsunade told him. Sasuke nodded, and she exited the room with everyone else.

"Sada-chan?" I looked at Sasuke curiously, and he smiled again. "Arigato...for caring so much." I nodded and closed my eyes feeling more tears.

"I'll be right back." I slipped out of Sasuke's arms and walked out of the room. I looked down the right side of the hallway, and at Tsunade who was walking with Shizune, Jiraiya, and Naruto. "Tsunade." She looked back at me, and I smiled slightly. "Arigato for saving him." She nodded, and I could see something in her topaz eyes. It was as if she was remembering some feeling.

"Your welcome." I nodded and walked back into Sasuke's room. Perhaps Tsunade knew what it was like to lose a loved one.

_A MONTH LATER_

Well, so much had happened in the past month. We'd done so many things, and everything seemed to be getting far more complicated. After Kakashi had been healed, we didn't do anything for a few days because we thought it'd be best to let him rest. The four of us just hung out and had team time, getting to know each other all over again. We'd been trying to do that for a while, but it hadn't worked at first. It seemed to be getting easier, but it was still hard. We even trained a little, trying to get ourselves stronger. When Kakashi had finally gotten his strength back, he ended up telling everyone that I had made Chunin. Sasuke was proud of me, and Sakura was a bit jealous. Naruto was just his happy self and kept saying he'd make Chunin next time.

After I finally went home after a month and a half of staying in the hospital, I ended up finding a little claybird sitting on my window sill. It was carrying a letter and when I picked it up, I saw it was from Deidara. In it, he explained everything about why he had come with Itachi and Kisame. Apparently he was part of an organization called the Akatsuki, and their goal was to capture all of the tailed demons. Deidara explained that Naruto had the nine-tailed fox inside him, and that's why they had come to Konoha. He also apologized for everything that had happened from Itachi hurting me, to him having to lie to me. He said in his letter how he never had wanted to join the Akatsuki, but he'd lost a fight against one of them and was forced to join. He told me how much he loved me and how sorry he was for not telling me sooner. He said he hadn't been allowed to tell me, and he still wasn't but he wanted to. It made me happy knowing that he loved me as much as he did, and I sent him a reply telling him that I didn't care about any of that. All I cared about was him and ever since then, we'd been sending letters back and forth to each other. I had at least thirty in my room at this moment.

Well to keep going with the present, my team ended up getting a mission after a while. Since Kakashi had been sent away on his own mission, this one was all ours. We had to go and protect a runner in some race. It sounded really easy and stupid, but it wasn't all that easy. There was big time enemies, and all kinds of other junk in our way complicating our mission. We were finally able to complete it though, but Sasuke witnessed how much Naruto had grown as a shinobi. It wasn't a good thing because he got sort of jealous. Jealousy never was a good thing...especially when it came to Sasuke. He felt weak, and nothing I said could help him feel better.

When we were back at the village, Sasuke had been put in the hospital because of his injuries, he felt so weak right now. I'd told him he wasn't, but he was stubborn and wouldn't believe anything I said. His hatred and anger finally got the best of him, and he challenged Naruto to a fight. They went up to the roof of the hospital and fought it out. The both pulled out their fancy moves and were going to go all Chidori verses Rasengan on each other. Sakura was freaking out and ran to stop them from hurting each other. I just stood there in shock, I didn't think they'd do that. Pull out deadly moves like that on each other. I knew they were rivals, but they were also teammates. They shouldn't have done that. Luckily, Kakashi had came and stopped them both. Sasuke took off, and Kakashi went after him to talk some sense into him. Jiraiya came and began lecturing Naruto about the power of Rasengan, how dangerous it was, and blah blah blah. I took Sakura and began walking her back to her house, sure we didn't get along but she was so upset about all this...I felt bad for her.

"What are we going to do Sada?" she asked finally. "They both-"

"We can't do anything Sakura." I interrupted. "This is them...we shouldn't interfere with their differences. Let them sort it out."

"By letting them kill each other?" she almost shouted. I looked over at her and sighed seeing her crying.

"Sakura...we won't let them kill each other but...we can't do anything." I said softly. "We shouldn't get involved...it's their fight not ours."

"I suppose you're right." she said quietly.

"Everything will get better soon enough, trust me." I asked of her.

She nodded and walked off into her house. I sighed and began walking the streets again. I was thinking alot, about everything mainly. I didn't like Naruto and Sasuke fighting, but I couldn't do anything about it. I missed Deidara as well, and I wanted to see him so badly. I still had the map he had given me tucked away in my weapons pouch at the moment, I hadn't looked at it yet; I didn't want to ruin the surprise. I wanted to leave the village, but I couldn't. I didn't have everything worked out yet, and Sasuke really needed my support right now. I sighed, rubbing at my shoulder where my curse mark was, and walked into a secluded area in the village. I needed some time to myself, some quiet time. I looked up and stiffened seeing Sound shinobi hop off somewhere. The thing that scared me the most was the fact that they were the Sound Four, Orochimaru's favorites. What were they doing here? I looked up and saw Sasuke sitting there thinking. 'Kuso, they're trying to get him to leave the village. But if they're dead then they can't.' I nodded to myself and ran off in the direction they had went; I had to stop them. They weren't going to take Sasuke from me, they weren't. After about fifteen minutes I found where they were. Night had already fallen across the village so I knew no one would wonder where I was. I walked towards them, and they all finally looked in my direction. Tayuya 'humphed' and glared at me.

"Well look who it is." she said with a sarcastic tone. I glared at her, and Sakon looked at me curiously.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"What are you doing here? Haven't you people caused enough trouble in this village?" I asked coldly. Kidoumaru smirked and crossed his arms.

"We just love starting a little havoc, but that's not why we're here." he said.

"Why were you talking to Sasuke?" I asked, trying to control my anger. "What do you want with him?"

"Orochimaru-sama wants him." Sakon said. "He ordered us to come talk to him."

"Leave this village." I demanded. "Get out of here before I kill you."

"Like you could." Jiroubou said with a chuckle.

"Hai, I could." I stated. "Did you forget about our little skirmish on the roof a few months ago?"

"What the hell makes you so confident you little bitch?" Tayuya hissed, ignoring the fact that I also had a curse mark.

"The fact that I know I'm more powerful than you." I replied. Her glare deepened, and Sakon smirked.

"Orochimaru-sama also wished for us to speak with you." he told me. I glared, not liking that Orochimaru was still trying to get me to join him, and he smirked again. "He wants you to come back with us as well."

"Tell Orochimaru he can go screw himself." I said evilly. Kidoumaru chuckled and said

"We were positive you would accept."

"And why is that?" I spat.

"Because your precious Sasuke is coming with us." he replied. My heart seemed to stop, and I stared at him shocked.

"S-Sasuke's going with you?" I repeated. Tayuya nodded and smirked.

"Yeah, he just went to get his stuff. We could tell that he was going to come." she said.

"No, Sasuke would never...he wouldn't betray the village like that." I said, still shocked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Jiroubou said. I looked behind me and stared at Sasuke, he really had come.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, he didn't look pleased that I was there. I stared at him, slightly shocked, and bit my lip.

"Nande Sasuke-kun?" I asked quietly. "Why would you do this?" He avoided eye contact with me and said

"I need power to defeat Itachi."

"This isn't the way to get it." I said softly. "If you stay here, you can gain it. Please don't go."

"I have to." he said coldly. "This is the only way."

"No, it's not." I argued. "Please don't go...stay here." He finally looked me in the eyes and touched my cheek.

"I would've stayed here with you forever." Sasuke said. "Demo…I can't."

"Nande?" I asked. "Nande-"

"Because I can't have you." he shouted. I stared at him, slightly shocked/confused, and he took his hand away from my face. "I love you...but you don't love me."

"Of course I love you." I told him. "You're my best friend."

"Is that all I can ever be?" he yelled. "A friend? Why can't I be more to you?" I looked down and held my arms, hating how much this was hurting him. He walked passed me, and I looked at him.

"Please...don't leave me." He looked back and even though his eyes held hatred, I could still tell that he cared about me. "I didn't know...I'm-"

"Don't even try that." he interrupted, sounding cold. "I know about him." My head shot up, and he smirked. "That blonde that came with my brother and the blue man. You love him." I looked down and felt tears rolling down my cheeks. "Just the way you were looking at him, I could tell. Naruto told me about the boyfriend you had when I was gone, and I knew instantly that it was him." He crossed his arms, and the Tayuya, Sakon, Jiroubou, and Kidoumaru came up behind him. "Deidara wasn't it?" I bit my lip and forced my tears to stop.

"Sasuke...Orochimaru won't give you power." I said quietly. "He just wants to use your body as a new vessel for himself."

"Shut up-" Tayuya snapped.

"It's true, he won't give you anything." I interrupted. Sasuke stared at me with emotionless eyes for a moment, and I watched the flame like marks crawl up his skin.

"He's already given me this." he said with a smirk.

"You can't leave." I stated. "I won't let you, I'll fight you if I have to." His eyes went soft for a moment, and the marks retreated back up his skin.

"I don't want to fight you." Sasuke said in a monotone.

"Well too bad, I'll fight you if you even try to leave this village." I said, still crying. "If I have to...I will." Sasuke stood there, motionless for a minute, and finally walked back over to me. I stood there crying and he took my face in his hands, wiping my tears away with his thumb. "Please…don't go."

"Do you love me?" he asked so only I could hear.

My voice was caught in my throat, and I couldn't get myself to speak. I loved him as a friend, and nothing more. If I just said yes then he wouldn't leave, but I couldn't make myself lie to him. He was referring to the way I felt towards Deidara...I couldn't lie to him...I just couldn't. I shook my head and could see sadness fill his eyes. Yet...even though I had said that...he kissed me. I could feel my head go blank when his lips collided with mine, how could I have been so blind to my feelings? I…I did love Sasuke…and what made it worse was it was the exact same way I felt towards Deidara. I didn't think I'd ever manage to love someone as much as I loved Deidara, but I did…I could tell that it was just a little less than the way I loved Deidara though. I loved Deidara more than I loved Sasuke…but I still loved him. This wasn't good, how could this have happened without my noticing? How had I managed to fall in love with two people? He pulled out of the kiss and whispered

"I'll wait for you." Then, the world went black.

**Author's Note: And the plot thickens...one chapter left after this...so sad. It's coming to an end....**

_PREVIEW CHAPTER THIRTY_

_"Sada." he said._

"Sasuke." I replied. I looked at Naruto and back at Sasuke. "What did you do?"

"We fought." Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Is he..." I stopped myself and looked at the ground. Sasuke wasn't a killer...he wasn't...right?

"He's alive." Sasuke told me, answering my unfinished question. I looked up at him, and he stared at me. "What do you want?"

_"I want you to come home." I replied._

_"I can't do that." he said._

_"Nande?" I asked emotionlessly._


	31. Chapter Thirty: Obligation

I stood, glaring at Sasuke, and he continued glaring at me as well. I took a quick glance at the unconscious Naruto and looked back in Sasuke's direction.

"Well then, make a decision. Are you coming home or not?" I asked, sounding cold. He stared at me with a cold look and shook his head.

"No." he said emotionlessly. I deepened my glare and said

"Very well, then I'll make you."

"I don't want to have to fight you Sada." Sasuke said in a monotone voice. "Demo if you won't let me leave..." I watched the flames spread all over his body and looked back at his face. "Then I guess I'll have to."

_FLASHBACK_

I looked around for a moment and finally ran left. I couldn't find Sasuke anywhere, so I was guessing he really had left the village. I was already away from Konoha and was trying my best to find him. I wasn't going to let him leave, I would do anything in my power to stop him. I couldn't believe that I loved Sasuke, but I wasn't going to let him leave me. He was the only thing I had in Konoha, but I would manage to make myself stay loyal to Deidara. I loved Deidara more than I loved Sasuke, so it shouldn't be hard for me to keep those feelings in.

"Sada!" I looked back and saw Naruto come up behind me. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find Sasuke." I replied.

Yeah, I'd dropped the 'kun' from the end of his name. I knew things wouldn't be the same once we brought Sasuke back, so I might as well try to severe the emotions I had for him. I had a feeling I wouldn't succeed all that well though. Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji came up a few seconds later and stared at me curiously, wondering what I was doing here.

"I know where they're heading, but we have to move fast." I instructed. They nodded, and we began our journey together.

"Sada how do you know where he's going?" Kiba asked. I looked over at him and sighed.

"Sound shinobi came to the village last night and convinced Sasuke to leave. My only guess is the Village Hidden in the Sound." I replied.

"And we don't know where that is." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Exactly, so we have to move quickly." I finished. They nodded, and we finally came upon the Sound Four. Sasuke was no where in sight, but all the Sound shinobi were surrounding a barrel; that had to be where Sasuke was.

"Where's Sasuke?" Choji asked quietly.

"In that barrel." Neji said, looking at it.

"We have to get them away from it." I said.

Naruto nodded and kept his eyes straight on the barrel, he looked just as upset as I did about losing Sasuke. After we made a quick plan, we put it into action. I waited on the side lines so if it didn't work, I could come in and save their asses. It didn't work either, but I stayed hidden. I was going to do this _my_ way, plus...I knew they'd get out eventually. Like I predicted they got out, and Choji stayed to fight. I stayed behind in case anything went badly. About twenty minutes passed, and Choji finally won. I did some quick medical jutsu to save his life and went on after the rest of them.

I finally came across Neji who had barely won his fight. I transferred some chakra to him and continued looking for the rest of them. I didn't see Kiba, but I did come across Shikamaru. He seemed to be doing ok, so I went off to find Naruto. He was going to need my help when he had to fight Sasuke. I went a little ways until I came across another pair of fighters, Lee and Kimimaru. I looked at Lee confused for a moment, what was he doing here? He was still recovering from surgery wasn't he? I shook my head and continued trying to find Naruto. After about fifteen minutes, I came across Naruto and Sasuke. The battle had just ended, and Sasuke had won. It was raining as well, it looked so depressing. Why did all of this have to be happening? I stepped out of the trees, and Sasuke looked in my direction hearing my footsteps.

"Sada." he said, he'd dropped the 'chan' from my name. Nothing was going to be the same with us ever again.

"Sasuke." I replied. I looked at Naruto and back at Sasuke. "What did you do?"

"We fought." Sasuke said emotionlessly.

"Is he..." I stopped myself and looked at the ground. Sasuke wasn't a killer...he wasn't...right?

"He's alive." Sasuke told me, answering my unfinished question. I looked up at him, and he stared at me. "What do you want?"

"I want you to come home." I replied.

"I can't do that." he said.

"Nande?" I asked emotionlessly.

"I need more power to defeat Itachi." Sasuke explained. I shook my head, hating that he was so determined to kill his Oni-chan, and he sighed. "What are you doing here? Why did you come?"

"I told you. I want you to come home, and I'm here to bring you back." I told him.

"I'm not going back." he said. 'Then I'll have to drag you back.'

"Fine." I said coldly.

"So what now?" he asked.

"We fight." I replied.

"No, I won't fight you." he said. I glared at him and clenched my fists. 'He's coming back whether he likes it or not.'

_END FLASHBACK_

I dodged when Sasuke swung at my head and kicked at him, trying to put some distance between us but he dodged. 'He's faster now.' I kicked towards his head and succeeded in getting some distance between us. I closed my eyes, letting go of the seal, and felt the same warmth cover the left side of my body. I knew it was stupid to let go of the seal, but I needed all the power I could get to defeat Sasuke. I looked up at Sasuke through my bangs and did some quick handsigns. I opened my eyes and watched as darkness appeared in my hand. 'Dark Lightning.'

I had actually used the idea of Chidori to create this jutsu, but it also had some of the Rasengan put into it. It was darkness, combined with _actual_ lightening, and it had enough momentum to send you plummeting backwards. So it was a Chidori Rasengan combo basically...but it was my own move. I was able to throw it as well, if I wanted to use it as a distance attack that is. The lightening would shoot out if I threw it though, so I'd have to be careful it didn't hit me.

I stared at Sasuke, and he looked at me with a small hint of being terrified. He was afraid of my jutsu, I knew he was; who wouldn't be? I wasn't going to try to kill him with it, just injure him enough to where I'd be able to take him back to the village. I ran towards him, and he moved backwards. Little did he know my jutsu was also a distance attack. I brought my arm back and threw Dark Lightning. All sorts of darkness shot out of it like lightning, hence the name, and he tried his best to dodge them. Of course he wasn't fast enough to dodge all of them, but he dodged most. I looked in his direction when the dust settled and gasped not seeing him there. I knew he hadn't gotten thrown backwards by it, since that only would happen when I used it as a more taijutsu attack, so I was in trouble. 'Fuck.' I turned around and got punched straight in the face. I tumbled across the ground and looked up through my hair. Sasuke was slowly walking towards me, but he had Chidori. I tried pushing myself up but grabbed my leg; I'd torn a muscle in it. I took a breath and did some more handsigns.

"Katsu."

Spheres began exploding, and I smirked. I forgot to mention that I had spread my spheres all over the place hadn't I? Well, I did before I completely got here, they just kind of followed and hid themselves. Pretty neat huh? He jumped backwards, trying to keep distance from all the explosions going on, and I did some handsigns. If I could just reconnect the muscle in my leg then I'd be able to fight. I watched green chakra form around my hand and gently placed it on my leg. I winced and hoped that my spheres would be enough of a distraction. I took a deep breath and smiled feeling the pain disappear. 'Perfect.' I felt something wrap around my neck and looked up to see Sasuke right infront of me. He still had Chidori activated, I was in trouble.

"Gomen." I whispered. "I couldn't save you." He looked at me with his hatred and anger slowly leaving his expression, and I let tears fall down my face. I could feel the warm feeling of the marks retreating back to my skin, the power disappearing. "I wasn't able to save you...gomen Sasuke." Chidori disappeared from his hand, and he stared down at me.

"This was my choice Sada." Sasuke said. I closed my eyes and bit the inside of my jaw. "Don't cry anymore."

"Will you come back?" I asked quietly.

"No." he replied. I opened my eyes, my tears stopping, and sighed quietly.

"Gomen." I repeated.

I stabbed him in the leg with my kunai, and he stumbled backwards in surprise. I quickly got to my feet and threw a few shuriken at him. One cut across his cheek, another across his arm, and he did some handsigns after dodging the rest of them. 'Fireball jutsu...not good.' I jumped backwards but dropped to the ground when the fire came in contact with my skin. I groaned in pain and heard Sasuke say

"You'll always be my best friend Sada, I'll always love you." I looked up, and the last thing I saw was Sasuke fist come at my face.

_LATER_

I opened my eyes and looked around the room I was in. I was in a hospital, great. I always seemed to end up in hospitals lately. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the door. I couldn't believe I wasn't able to bring Sasuke back. I'd thought I could do it, but I couldn't. I'd failed...I wasn't able to save my best friend from evil. I loved Sasuke, I couldn't believe I loved him…but I did. Now I had to watch him turn into someone evil, someone that I would wind up hating in the future, why had this all happened? I'd been trained under a fucking S-Ranked Criminal, and I hated been able to bring Sasuke back; I was pathetic. I wished Deidara was here to comfort me, I missed him so much. I sighed and the door opened. Sakura walked in and smiled at me.

"Hi Sada." she greeted.

"Konnichiwa." I said quietly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Ok I guess." I said, ignoring how sad I felt. She nodded, and I bit my lip. "How's Naruto?"

"He's alright, I mean..." She giggled slightly and smiled. "He looks like a mummy, but he'll be fine." I nodded, and her smile turned into a frown; she was upset about Sasuke as well.

"Is everyone else ok?" I asked. She nodded and held her arms.

"Hai, the medical shinobi are taking care of everyone." she replied. I nodded and sat up. I made myself get out of the bed, and she looked at me concerned. "Are you sure you should be getting up?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, picking up some of the clothes that had been left for me.

"I'm going to go check up on Naruto." she said after a moment of silence. I nodded, and she exited my room. I quickly changed clothes and looked over at the door hearing it open. The doctor walked in and smiled at me.

"It looks as if you're feeling better." he stated. I nodded, and he looked over his clipboard. "Everything looks alright in your papers, you may leave if you wish." I nodded again and said

"Could you tell me about the team I was with? How are they?" He looked through more papers and said

"They're all fine. In their rooms at this time."

"Could I visit them?" I asked. He nodded and told me each of their room numbers. I walked down the hallway to Naruto's room. He looked at me seeing me walk in and smiled.

"Hi Sada." he said cheerfully. I smiled slightly and walked over to him, he really did look like a mummy.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Fine." he said. "I'm ready to go out and train. Believe it!"

"Perhaps you should wait a while before you do that." I said quietly. He grinned and said

"I've been here forever, I want out of this place." I giggled, and he grinned again.

"How long have we all been here?" I asked, wondering how much time had passed.

"About a week I think." he said.

"I've been asleep for a week?" I asked, slightly shocked. He nodded and said

"Sasuke must've hit you pretty hard, they were real worried about you." I nodded and sighed. "Sada don't worry. I'll bring Sasuke back, believe it." I nodded and forced myself to smile at him.

"Arigato Naruto. I'm going to go visit everyone else."

He nodded, and I walked out of his room looking for Neji's room. After about two minutes I found his room and walked in. He looked at me as I walked in and smiled slightly.

"Konnichiwa Sada." he said.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked.

"Good actually. You?" I shrugged, and he put his headband on over the mark on his forehead. "Well I wish I could talk longer, but I have to go see how Lee is." I nodded and said

"I'll see you later then." He nodded in agreement, and I walked down the hallway towards Choji's room. I walked in and saw Ino screaming about how Choji ate too much and Shikamaru shaking his head.

"So troublesome." he muttered. He looked over and saw me standing there and slapped Ino's arm lazily. "Ino shut up, you're going to scare Sada." he said boredly. Ino looked over and smiled.

"Hey Sada, what's up?" she asked.

"Nothing really." I replied. She nodded, and I looked from Shikamaru to Choji. "How are you both feeling?"

"Alright." Shikamaru said lazily.

"Hungry." Choji complained. I smiled slightly and turned back to the door.

"I'll let you guys have team time…bye."

I walked out and finally headed towards Kiba's room. I was really worried about Kiba seeing as I hadn't seen him after we'd split up, I hoped he was ok, as well as Akamaru. I walked in his room, and he looked over at me.

"Hey Sada." he said with a smile. I smiled back and walked over to him.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked.

"Ok. What about you?" he said.

"Fine. What about Akamaru?" I asked. He smirked and said

"He's fine. Akamaru, come here." Akamaru ran up and jumped onto the bed. I smiled, and he jumped up into my arms. "See, he's ok." I nodded and stroked his soft fur.

"I was worried when I didn't see you." I said.

"You were behind the rest of us right?" he asked, I nodded. "I ended up falling somewhere and had to fight. Me and Akamaru probably wouldn't have made it if the Sand hadn't helped us out."

"The Sand?" I asked.

"Yeah. The Sands that came to the Chunin Exams helped us out." he replied.

'Gaara's here then.' I nodded and handed Akamaru back to Kiba.

"I'll go and let you guys rest." He nodded, and I walked out of his room. I walked out of the hospital and looked down the street. I didn't see Gaara, Temari or Kankuro so I head back to my house.

_SADA'S HOUSE_

I looked around my house for a moment and sighed seeing it no different than I had left it. There didn't seem to be anything out of place, at least nothing that I noticed. I looked through my weapons pouch and nodded, still finding Deidara's map and note. At least I still had them, I didn't know what I would do if I had lost them. I walked to my room and sat on the bed thinking. Nothing was going to be the same for me anymore. Konoha wouldn't be the same without Sasuke...for me at least. I already missed him, what was I going to do? Apparently I wasn't powerful enough to bring him back...wait. I wasn't powerful enough right now, if I went out training for a while, then I would be. I'd be able to defeat him easily and bring him right back to Konoha. I wasn't going to be able to get that powerful here though...I needed different teachers. People of different village backgrounds...I had to go traveling.

I sighed, and got out my bag. I packed my clothes, a drawing notebook along with tons of pens(I had to have something to do didn't I), and all my other essentials. I looked around my house and smiled slightly seeing the claybird Deidara had sent me. He had sent it to me so if I had something extra important I needed to tell him then I'd have a way to let him know. I grabbed some paper and a pen. I sat down and wrote

_Deidara,_

_This is going to sound rather weak and very confusing at first. You might have to read through this letter a couple of times to understand it. Well I suppose I should start out by saying that I'm leaving Konoha. You might be wondering why, well I'll explain. My best friend here left to go training under Orochimaru. I couldn't stop him, I tried so hard to protect him, but I couldn't save him. I need to leave the village and go traveling, I need to get stronger. That's the only way I can bring him back because he's stronger then I am. I really need to do this, if I don't…I just have to do this Deidara. I love you, and I promise to stay safe for you. I don't exactly know where I'll head first, I was thinking maybe the Sand or Rocks. I'd love to see your home, maybe we'll run into each other. I don't know whether we'll be able to send messages because I don't know where I'm heading as I said before. I also don't know how long I'll be staying in each place, but I'll try my best to send you a message at least once every month. I also would like to say, yet again, that I love you Deidara. Always and forever, I can't wait to be with you again. This is just something I have to do though. I'll return to the Konoha in two and a half years, yes I know it's a long time but I need time. It's my only ally at this moment, besides you of course. Again I say that I love you, and can't wait to see you._

_Forever Yours,_

_Sada_

After I read through the letter a couple of times, I handed it over to the bird and watched as it took off out the window. I grabbed my bag and looked over on my dresser. I grabbed my rectangular shaped box and pulled my charm bracelet out. I quickly put the bracelet around my wrist and smiled to myself. I had two charms on my bracelet now, one was the butterfly from Deidara and the other was a heart…from Sasuke. Now I finally realized why he'd picked a heart…because he loved me. And even though I loved Sasuke, I loved Deidara more. I would never be able to betray Deidara…he was everything to me. I slowly walked out of my house and looked towards the Hokage's building; I had to let Tsunade know that I was leaving for the village. I walked down the street, and I walked up the stairs of the building. I looked inside and went down the hallway in the direction of her office. I walked into her office without knocking and saw her talking to Shizune. She looked over, hearing the door open, and sighed seeing me.

"What do you need?" she asked with a bored tone.

"I'd like to inform you that I'm leaving the village." I replied. She looked at me confused for a moment and finally took a breath, trying to stay calm.

"Nande?" she asked slowly. She put her head in her hands and took another slow breath.

"I need to do some training on my own." I said with no emotion.

"Why not here?" she asked, looking up. She stared me right in the eyes and entwined her fingers. I looked at her blankly and said

"Here I can't focus. This village reminds me of too many things, memories that hurt. You should understand that Tsunade-sama, seeing as you've lost some people dear to you." She looked up at me, slightly shocked that I knew what I did, and I tried to give her a sad look. "I'm reminded too much of Sasuke, I can't keep my thoughts straight. Please Tsunade, let me leave." She nodded after a moment and sighed.

"How long will you be away?" she asked. "You're only twelve." I looked at her with slight anger and said

"I'm not twelve. I'm thirteen and a half." She looked me over for a second and shrugged.

"Gomen, you just look young." I nodded, still annoyed that she had thought I was twelve, and said

"I'll be back in two and a half years or so." She nodded and said

"You have my permission, you can leave."

"Tsunade-sama, I must object." Shizune said. "She's only a Chunin, she can't possibly survive on her own."

"Watch me." I said, sounding a little cold. "I can do anything."

"My only order is that you stay clear of Sound Shinobi and no going to the Sound Village." Tsunade said. I glared slightly, not liking it, but nodded; I couldn't win this argument if I wanted to. I nodded to her and bowed slightly.

"Arigato Tsunade-sama."

She nodded, and I exited the room. I walked down the stairs of the building and in the direction of the gates. I finally made it to the gates and walked through them. I looked around and sighed thinking. 'Where do I go from here?' I bit my lower lip and finally began heading in some random direction. I didn't have any clue where I was going to end up, but I didn't really care right about now. I was just going to go where the wind led me, it had never steered me wrong before. I smiled slightly feeling the wind go passed me and looked to where it was heading. 'Left.' I went left and walked a little ways until I came to a fork. 'Left or right now?' I looked at both ways for a moment and looked left hearing footsteps. I smiled slightly, and my eyes met see green ones. 'Gaara.'

"Sada-chan." he said, slightly monotone. I smiled slightly and looked at Temari and Kankuro.

"Hello Gaara-kun, Temari, Kankuro."

"Hey Sada, what's up?" Temari asked. I shrugged, not really knowing what to say, and Kankuro said

"What are you doing out of the village?"

"Leaving." I answered. "Training." He nodded in reply and I looked over at Gaara, he was looking at me curiously.

"Come with us. We're going back to the Village Hidden in the Sand." he said. "I'm sure we could help you with your training." Kankuro and Temari nodded in agreement, and I smiled.

"I'd love to." He nodded, and I walked up beside him. I looked at Temari walking beside me, and Kankuro walking on the other side of Gaara. "So question." They looked at me, and I smiled slightly. "Were you guys trying to save the day this time?" Temari giggled in amusement and nodded.

"Yeah. I suppose." she said amused.

"We're not the bad guys anymore." Kankuro said. "Even though that was kind of fun." I rolled my eyes hearing the sarcastic tone and looked towards Gaara. He shook his head, seeming a little annoyed, and looked over at me.

"We didn't see you." he stated. I nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, I was…somewhere else." He nodded and hesitantly put a hand on my shoulder.

"Uchiha's eyes were like mine used to be." he said. I looked at him, and he removed his hand from my shoulder. "His eyes were like mine before I met Uzumaki Naruto…and you." I smiled slightly and touched his hand. "If anyone can help him Sada, it's you and Naruto."

"Arigato." I said.

He nodded, and I looked ahead at the desert. I sighed, and we headed side by side to the Village Hidden in the Sand. 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you Sasuke, but don't worry. In two years, just two years, I'll bring you back; I promise.'

**Author's Note: The end, the story has officially come to a close. I hope you all liked the re-write better than the original, and I know I have to work on the sequal and all. The thing with that is...I'm in a bit of a writer's slump on it, so I'll more than likely have to re-write it as well. So I warn you all, don't be expecting it for a long time. The sequal is originally called **_I Will Never Let You Fall_ **but I'm considering renaming it. Kayz...well...yeah. Anywho, I'm glad you all liked this story so much =]**


	32. A Note To The Readers

**Author's Note: Hey guys, so I know you're more than likely wondering what's going on with this random little update thing on Beautiful Tragedy. Allow me to explain with a simple, yes, this story is finished. This is not a new chapter but merely some information you all would more than likely like to have concerning this story's sequel. Ah ha! I caught your attention there, didn't I? Well, besides my random moment, I shall explain what I'm talking about. Well, to keep you all from going completely crazy I'll let you know that I am, at this moment, writing the sequel…again. I'd started out writing two different versions, both didn't turn out the way I wanted so I almost entirely gave up on writing it. I never finished either version as well, I was almost tempted to just stick with having Beautiful Tragedy. Instead of giving up, I tried one more time and glory behold, I think I've got it. I honestly have no idea where it will go since I don't have too many ideas for it, but hopefully it will turn out better than the ones I originally had started. I need to get a little further in it and mess around with some ideas, get some more inspiration and such before actually posting it on this website. I absolutely loath starting a story and never finishing it, it really pisses me off. I'm extremely angry with myself for not finishing Destinies Can Chance, but I'm working on re-writing it now so hopefully everything will work out better. Anyway, you lot prolly don't wanna hear about that since it has nothing to do with the sequel to Beautiful Tragedy. The sequel to Beautiful Tragedy, as most of you probably know, is called Sin. Make sure to subscribe to my author alert if you wanna read the first chapter as soon as I post it, I warn you again, it may be a little while. Not months or anything, maybe a couple weeks or so...maybe sooner depending on how much I manage to get done. Also, Deidara will appear in the first chapter so that should definitely make you want to read it if you enjoyed the romance between he and Sada during Beautiful Tragedy. And, since you all have been patiently waiting for the sequel, I'll let you all see a little excerpt from the first chapter that I've written...enjoy and subscribe!**

**Tons of XOXO**

**Eva**

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_Random Excerpt from Chapter One of Sin, not the **actual** beginning incase you're wondering._

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I'd been living in Sunagakure for a good year now, maybe longer. Originally, I'd set out from Konohagakure about two and a half years ago to do some solo training. My goal was to rescue my best friend, Uchiha Sasuke, from Orochimaru's clutches. He'd left the village in search of power, trying to kill his older brother Itachi for murdering his clan. Before Sasuke had left the village though, he'd confessed to me that he was in love with me. Literally, _in love _with me. I hadn't known about my true feelings for him until he'd kissed me that night, and now I was torn to make a decision. You see, I have a boyfriend already, for two years and seven months to be exact. His name is Iwagakure no Deidara, and I am madly in love with this boy. I love him with all my heart, soul, and being. He's like my other half, and I have no idea what my life would be like without him. Deidara, he helped me find myself again. He helped me find the happiness I hadn't known in years, he helped show me what love was. Sasuke though...I also didn't know what I would do if I didn't have him in my life. He helped rescue me from myself, he helped show me that I wasn't alone in the world, and he showed me that there was someone I could trust.

I was in love with both of these boys, and they have one major thing in common...they're both Criminals. Sasuke, he works with Orochimaru now. In exchange for the power to be able to defeat Itachi, he has given up the ultimate price, his freedom. It didn't seem like Sasuke cared about what happened to him anymore, I sometimes think that he believes there's nothing left for him to live for except killing Itachi. Orochimaru has his own plans for Sasuke, he wants to use his body as a new vessel for himself. He's all about sustaining his own life and mastering all jutsu of the world, I refuse to let this happen to Sasuke. I'm determined to rescue him from Orochimaru, whether he wants to be rescued or not.

Deidara, on the other hand, works for a group of S-Ranked Criminals called the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki consist of some of the most dangerous criminals the world has ever seen, they have nine members in their ranks at this time. I know Deidara never wanted to join Akatsuki, he was forced into when he lost a battle against one of their members...Itachi. Before that though, Deidara was still a criminal. He was a terrorist bomber for higher, taking on contracts just to blow things up. He wanted everyone to know of his art, that's what he lived for back then. Behind all that though, he's an amazing person. He's everything I could've ever wanted in a man, and so much more than I deserve. I'd never thought that I would be able to find love again after I lost my first love, Haku. Deidara, had managed to fill that place in my heart and show me that there was a reason to live. He was my reason.

But, I have more than one reason now. I have him, as well as Sasuke. I know I'll eventually have to make a decision, I'll have to choose between the both of them. I have no idea what I'll do but until that time comes, I'll just have to listen to my heart rather than my head.


End file.
